Alien Fever
by Tweepa
Summary: Transfer-student Jack Allen (OC) has lived an abnormal life. His wheelchair bound mother moved him from his comfortable life in the States to Japan, where he enrolled in the UA Hero Course. Though he stands out like a sore thumb, nobody seems to notice him more than Mina Ashido, who can't decide how to feel about her newest classmate.
1. A Fresh Start

**A Fresh Start**

* * *

Jack Allen was certainly not the first student to stare at UA High like it was a most insurmountable obstacle, nor would he be the last. Moments after he passed through the gates with his freshly issued ID card, his mind began to wander. Jack knew Japan only for their quirky game shows and many fighting styles. Of course, he, like the rest of the world, knew of UA. The school had been famous even before All Might's American debut, but his fame had significantly boosted the school's reputation across the sea.

For Jack to feel dwarfed is no simple feat, seeing as he was six foot six and still growing. While he grew too fast to be a bulky, muscular beast, he was no beanpole. The seventeen year old had short blonde hair with a slight cowlick to the left, dark blue eyes, and light, heavily scarred skin.

He barely noticed the clunky yellow mass that inched across the ground until it nearly wiggled over his feet. Jack took a step back, his brows elevated. "Allen-kun!" Tenya's familiar voice drove befuddled thoughts from the American's head. Jack looked away from the befuddling sight to nod at the class rep. "I got your text and came as soon as I could!"

It hadn't been luck that opened a slot in 2-A, but repeated allegations of sexual harassment. Mineta had been found unattended in girls' rooms one time too many and given the boot. Thanks to a recommendation from Ingenium, Jack had been allowed to participate in the UA enrollment process. Only two minutes had passed since Jack sent his message. He hadn't been exact on his location, but Tenya had found him easily enough.

"I've never been good with maps," Jack admitted without a hint of shame.

"It's no problem, a hero is always happy to-"

The blob from before cut Tenya off. "Any idiot can read a map," it stated in a deadpan voice.

Neither student was sure what to say, Tenya out of respect for his elder, and Jack because he was still trying to decide what he was looking at.

Aizawa seemed not to care. He seemed almost single minded in his task to find a perfect place to sleep. "Curfew starts soon. You two better get to the dorms, or you'll be expelled."

"Of course, Sensei! We'll go right now!" Tenya nearly shouted. His arms jerked robotically, as if he'd been programmed to obey authority. "Come on, Allen-kun."

The transfer student adjusted the shoulder strap of his duffel bag and walked after his guide. "You can call me Jack. There's no need to call me by my last name.

Tenya looked alarmed at first. After a few seconds, he seemed strangely flattered. "Jack it is, then. You can call me by my first name, as well." They didn't have far to go, as Jack's navigational abilities were at least decent. Only a turned a few turns and a cut across a small training field later and they arrived at their destination.

Even though it was eleven at night and the first day of school was tomorrow, the 2-A common room had almost every student up waiting to see the fresh meat. Jack felt like a deer in the headlights when he felt so many eyes boring into him. Many voices cut through the surprise at once

"Whoa, you're huge!" Denki Kaminari said by way of welcome.

"You don't break into rooms, do you?" Hanta Sero teased.

"Come on you guys, back up. Give him some space," Ochaco Uraraka ordered as helpfully as she could.

Thankfully, Tenya intervened. "Everyone get to sleep! Tomorrow is a school day!"

"You're up too, Iida," Mina Ashido teased. She sat with Kyoka Jiro and Ochaco at a table in the corner, where they'd been playing a card game.

Even though Jack was at a loss for words, everyone else was too loud to notice. He stood with an equal measure of impatience and discomfort until a hero came to his rescue. The elevator opened to reveal a blonde male, complete with plus-ultra bedhead.

"Get to bed, you noisy extras!"

Jack wondered if all of Japan was this crazy. He had thought the game-shows were extravagant, but his classmates were well beyond what he expected. Several of the teens stood and headed off to bed. "That's Katsuki Bakugo, our class hot-head. Don't let him bother you," Tenya said with a polite smile. "I know we seem like a lot, but our class really does mean well. Come on, I'll show you around." During the tour, Tenya spoke nonstop of the various amenities the school had to offer, including a pool, gym, training halls, study halls, and specific battle zones.

By the time Jack finally plopped onto his standard-issue, twin mattress, it was midnight. Even though the bed was too small and didn't even have sheets, he drifted off to sleep with ease.

His alarm awakened him five hours later. He silenced his phone and went to get ready for the day. He showered, rushed a towel through his hair, and put on his uniform. As he stared in the mirror, clad in black dress pants and a grey jacket, he felt like a monkey in a clown suit. He'd never given much thought to choosing his clothes, but he found he much preferred more movable and lightweight fabrics in case of a spontaneous emergency.

Jack had only barely passed the written examination. He had been an average student in America, but in Japan he felt as if he was probably one of the dumbest students. While he excelled at everything physical, he knew he would have to work harder than before if he wanted respectable marks on his tests.

He opened one of their assigned textbooks and began to look over the material. Though the common area would have been more comfortable, he sat on the floor of his room, as to not be disturbed. At seven in the morning, when curfew was officially over, Jack slipped his necessary books, pens, gym uniform, phone, and wallet into his backpack. With nothing but clothes remaining in his bag, he looked at the naked dorm room and shrugged.

It was a far cry from his old American home, but at least his mom was happy.

Jack opened his door and headed to the cafeteria. He got lost several times, but managed to get food, as well as a table by a window. After a lifetime of traditional eggs, bacon, and cereal, he found the bowl of steamed rice, miso soup, and grilled salmon to be just as out of his comfort zone as everything else.

"Hey…you!" Mina called as she rounded on the transfer student's table. "Crap, what was his name again?" She asked Tsu, all the while frowning at her memory lapse.

"That's Allen-kun," Tsu said patiently. Ochaco and Izuku walked a short distance from Mina and Tsu. Judging by their faces, they were trapped in a tense topic.

Jack didn't dislike his friendly acquaintances, but he would have appreciated space to get used to his surroundings first. "You can just call me Jack," he said.

Mina found herself entranced by the brazen attitude. She wasn't on a first name basis with many people in the class, let alone a ripped foreigner. To hide her surprise, she made a joke. "More like _jacked_! Do you have super strength?"

Without asking, Mina took a seat, along with Tsu. Izuku and Ochaco joined their friends, still lost in their conversation, which dominated the table. "Okay, guys, we have a serious question," Ochaco said with a grimly determined face. "If I use my zero-gravity on a kite, would it be impossible to steer?"

In the midst of the debate that ensued, Jack determined he'd become an unwitting part of the nerd table. The teens became so caught up in their discussion that they failed to notice when the first bell rang. Jack stood and went over to a sink, where he disposed of the food on his untouched tray.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you," Tenya said firmly, sounding like a disappointed grandmother. "Come on. We're going to be late for class. We must hurry, but there's to be no running in the halls! To damage school property would be shameful!"

Once they arrived, Jack headed towards the window, only for Tenya to stop him. "You're in seat one, because your last name is at the beginning of the alphabet."

The giant of a teenager felt like he was in the spotlight as his peers filed through. Some introduced themselves, while others sleepily stumbled to their seats without saying a word.

* * *

Mina turned her head towards Jack mid-laugh to check for his reaction, only to notice he was gone. _Wow. How's such a big guy so light on his feet?_

The second bell rang.

Izuku paled. "Oh crap! I'm sorry, guys!"

"We better run for it," Mina squeaked. "Aizawa's going to give us detention!"

Even in their haste, they had enough decency to decently clean up after themselves before running to their new classroom. Since they didn't have granny-Tenya with them, the quartet scrambled through the halls and arrived only a few minutes late.

As luck would have it, their new homeroom teacher was the same as the old one. Aizawa turned his glare to the door, breaking Tsu's frog-leap, Izuku's speed, and Ochaco's floating. "You're late," he said with a red-eyed glower.

"We're sorry," they said in unison. She and her friends sat at the available desks. While she settled, she couldn't help but feel frustrated with Jack for not warning them about the bell.

* * *

_Inspiration for Alien Fever goes to FeralG3, who approached me with a request for an OC and Mina pairing. They are co-creator to Jack Allen, as they provided the skeleton for his character and was kind enough to let me flesh him out. Thanks for trusting me with your idea, FeralG3. I hope you enjoy it. For this fanfic, I'll mostly be calling characters by their first names. I'm not sorry for writing out Minoru Mineta. Jack needed a spot and Mineta was a sexual harassment case waiting to happen._


	2. Fitting In

**Fitting In**

* * *

Even after his morning study session, Jack felt as if he barely understood anything in class. Not only were they speaking in a different language, he was uncomfortable with his stiff school uniform. By the time lunch rolled around, he felt mentally exhausted and in desperate need of food. It had only taken him hours to capture the essence of how inadequate a student an average American teenager was in the far more competitive Japanese system.

Class 2-A went to lunch together. Though Jack had thought Tenya would be out of factoids about the school, he prattled on about details he'd missed the night before. "The cafeteria is run by Lunch Rush, who keeps the kitchen running with perfect efficiency." The grand and spacious dining hall had numerous pale yellow chairs facing perfect rows of white tables.

Eijiro Kirishima walked beside Katsuki just in front of Jack and Tenya. "More importantly, the food's _good_," he reassured Jack. "Cooking fast doesn't mean a thing if it comes out raw. Or worse, _burnt_," he laughed.

The line moved quickly, as Lunch Rush lived up to his name. Within minutes, the better part of 2-A found a pair of tables beside one another. In the brief commute, Jack became separated from his morning crowd of Mina, Tsu, Ochacho, and Izuku. Tenya took a seat with them and Jack had been ready to join them, only to notice a floating uniform already in the seat he'd nearly taken. Careful not to sit on Toru, he quickly turned to settle elsewhere.

By some stroke of luck, he managed to find a group of quiet kids. Koji Kota, Rikido Sato, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Shoto Todoroki were a welcome respite from the incessant chatter buzzing about them. "May I sit here?" He asked, loath to ruin the serenity, but not wanting to be so brazen as to join them without an invitation.

"Sure," Rikido said, his thick lips answering at once.

Jack settled, glad for the quick acceptance. For a few minutes, none of the teens bothered him. Even though fish was far from his favorite food, his gut ached from the skipped breakfast. He found he barely minded the salty, flaky feel in his mouth. Thanks to Lunch Rush's careful preparation, Jack _almost _enjoyed the food.

Just when he was convinced that he'd escaped notice, Kirishima spoke up, his voice undeniably aimed to Jack. "Hey, man. Are you alright?" As if on cue, most of his peers fell quiet to listen. He couldn't tell whether they cared about his wellbeing or wanted to pick up on any gossip on the American.

Jack was surprised by the question. Was there a reason for the sudden inquiry? "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

"You're so quiet." Kirishima almost sounded as if he were pouting.

Jack shrugged. "I'm not a very talkative guy," he reasoned.

Toru giggled from her spot. "Not another one! Why are all the handsome guys quiet?"

It took all of his self-control not to turn beet red. Regardless, a light flush grazed the top of Jack's cheeks. "I don't have anything interesting to say." He sincerely hoped the explanation would be enough for his classmates to leave him in peace. His first priority was not to drown in his academics and live up to lofty expectations, not make friends.

"You lived in the United States, didn't you? Why'd you come to Japan?" Toru pushed, trying to make him get acquainted with the class.

Jack's eyes slipped to Tenya, who must have given some of his backstory away. He decided on the shortest possible version of the story. "My mom got married and switched jobs." Personally, he didn't think the tale was very interesting.

Tenya, being a bit of a know-it-all, couldn't resist the urge to fill in the blanks. "A member of my brother's support team went to train at the same American company as Jack's mother. Come the end of his internship, the two had fallen deeply in love and gotten married. Jack was in a successful hero course, but chose to transfer to UA to stay with his mother."

For a moment, Jack was stunned to have a portion of his past brought up so casually. Once Tenya finished, Jack felt every eye settle back on him. "See, man? You do have cool stories," Kirishima said with a laugh. "You just need a hype man."

Kyoka Jiro nearly sputtered out her drink as she tried not to laugh.

"You really would be a good hype man, Tenya," Ochaco giggled. "Your voice carries so naturally."

Tenya cupped his right hand into a fist and placed his thumb in front of his mouth. He tilted his chin down, as if to hide the blush over his cheeks. "My apologies, Jack. I won't be your hype man again."

Jack felt bad for Tenya. He mentally scrambled for a way to salvage his one sort-of-friend's reputation. "I really don't mind. I'm used to hearing fairly outrageous things, so I never know what life events are story-worthy. Besides, you put it far more eloquently than I could have, Tenya. Thanks."

Mina's eyes sparkled, her gossip instincts kicking in. "Outrageous, you say? Like what, exactly?" She was one of the furthest from him, so she set her elbows on the adjacent table and leaned closer, as if to better hear him.

For a moment, Jack wondered if she had ears, or if her small antlers served as a sort of noise receptacle. "American heroes focus more on combat and strategy than math, science, or history. If a kid has a promising quirk, we're put in specialized lessons immediately. We don't just have hero high schools, but also hero preschools, for kids of proven pros."

He wondered if he'd spilled some sort of national secret. Judging by the looks of astonishment and even horror, the preschools seemed to be news to nearly everyone. Once he let the cat out of the bag, he was instantly peppered with a couple of questions.

"UA should do something like that. Honestly, when are we going to have to use trigonometry to stop a villain?" Denki sounded exasperated.

"What if you didn't want to go to preschool?" The last question came from Shoto, who sat to Jack's immediate right.

Jack was flustered. Suddenly, he felt as if he were an oddity, all thanks to an upbringing that thousands of other kids had gone through. "I liked preschool. The schools knew what they were doing – they made everything seem like a game. We played tag and capture the flag like the other kids, but with obstacles with a point system that only teachers could see. By the end of the year, the top ten scoring kids were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. If they said heroes, then they were given different options to help them."

The silence that came in the wake of his answer made him feel contaminated, as if somehow his upbringing had been wrong.

Katsuki broke the quiet. "It sounds like Americans are raising a bunch of mindless meatheads. The best heroes aren't idiots, like what you're describing."

Though his home country was insulted, Jack couldn't help but subtly smile at the honesty. "You're right," he agreed without any hesitation. "When Mom asked if I wanted to move to Japan with her, I agreed because my friends and I were slacking off. We all had scholarships and sponsors lined up and didn't care about any of the academic parts like history or English. I'm here because I want to try to do better."

Tenya grinned at Jack. "If you need any help studying, it would be my honor to help a fellow hero."

"Same here, man, but save me as a last resort. I'm at the bottom of the class," Ejiro laughed. "Momo would be the most help. She's top of the class and really saved my butt last year."

"What about me, you ingrate? Are you saying I wasn't any help?" Katsuki growled.

Eijiro hastily chuckled. "Sure you were, but you're not exactly the most patient tutor. You're definitely motivational, with all the death threats."

Lunch drew to a close and the students filed out. Jack walked near the back of the group, working to reassess his assumptions. _There don't see to really be cliques in the school. Everyone gets along remarkably well. Though there are weird conversations, nobody's really a stereotypical nerd._

Jack noticed how the topics had changed to revolve around America's different training regime.

"Preschool? That's so _little_!"

"My mom didn't even let me pick out my own clothes at that age."

He listened without taking part, glad for a break from the spotlight. _I'll be old news soon enough._ Though he'd always wanted to be a pro-hero, it wasn't for a lack or want of attention. He was glad that they were headed to a class where they'd move; practical hero training, or else he would have missed out on valuable study time during lunch. While he didn't mean to be antisocial, he found his gaze searching for the most inconspicuous corners of the hall. Unfortunately for him, everything was in clear sight.

Several twists, turns, and an outfit change later, class 2-A was out in a practice field in their gym uniforms. Aizawa waited for them, a small black bag of equipment resting by his feet. "We're going to start out the year the same as we did before, by measuring your quirks. Like before, we'll have the 50-meter dash, grip strength, standing long jump, sustained sideways jump, sit ups, and then the pitch."

Every student was excited to participate. With no hesitation, each turned to chatter with a neighbor. "Allen, you're up first," Aizawa said, his tired, red eyes barely so much as glancing at his newest student. Jack couldn't help but feel as if he'd been written off already.

_It's probably nothing personal. I'm just a barbarian American until I prove otherwise._

The 50-meter dash needed no explanation. There was a scant moment of insecurity before he ran, followed swiftly by an innate urge to do his best. The straight course gave him more than enough room to quickly find his stride and take off at a dead run. He'd always been within the top three for everything physical at his old school, but didn't have such lofty expectations for UA, as he knew he was facing down against the best heroes-in-training of his age.

He waited at the finish line, where he was swiftly joined by Yuga and his navel laser, Mina on an acidic slide, then Tsu, Tenya, and everyone else arriving after their finishes. Each assessment went by quickly. Jack expected to score in the middle of the pack, but was pleasantly surprised when he managed to score within the top five for every category. "Dang, Allen-kun!" Hanata said with a wide grin as he rewound his tape. "What's your secret?"

"You can call me Jack," he told Hanata, as he'd told anyone else who made the assumption to call him by his last name. "I guess my secret is my barbarian American education," he joked, which won a round of laughter from a fair amount of his peers.

Katsuki looked murderous as he stared at the final scores for the pitch. "I lost to that nerd?" At once, his palms sparked with miniature explosions. "I'll murder you, Deku!"

"There he goes again," Mina muttered with a dramatic roll of her eyes.

"Again?" Jack inquired.

"Every time Izuku beats Katsuki at something, Katsuki takes it personally and starts yelling about killing."

Izuku had been the only student to beat Jack in more than three different assessments. Since Izuku didn't look worried, or even like he heard Katsuki's remarks, Jack left the matter alone.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Katsuki insisted, though nearly everyone did.

The first day of their second year ended with the students changing back in their school uniforms before heading back to the dorms. Jack was on his way to his room when Mina stopped him.

"Hey, Jack?" She began, looking excited. "Do you want to study together sometime? I'm not the smartest girl in class, but the extra practice could help us both, right?"

The young hero was surprised at the offer. "Sure. I'll study with anyone."

His comment came off as a bit insensitive, but Mina grinned it off. "So you're a study slut, huh?" She teased.

Jack's cheeks flushed pink. He couldn't help but feel like he'd fallen into some sort of trap. "I guess that's the goal," he agreed, however uncertainty.

"If you're looking for volume, I'll bring some friends!"

Jack hoped they could stay on task, but knew it would be rude and idiotic to refuse a helping hand. "Sounds great."


	3. Study Group

**Study Group**

* * *

Throughout the first day, Mina struggled to get a read on the transfer student. He hadn't told them the bell rang, which she thought meant he didn't care about anyone other than himself. At the start of the morning, she thought he was nothing more than a standoffish American jerk from a bad teenager movie.

The beginning of lunch had done little to dissuade her doubts. He hadn't talked to anyone on the way to the cafeteria, and his entire demeanor had seemed distant. There was a moment where he had looked like he'd considered sitting with her, Ochaco, Tenya, and Izuku – the people who had been kind enough to sit with him at breakfast, but he had turned at the last moment to sit with the quiet boys.

She took that as a hint that he found her annoying. Mina hated disliking someone, as she far preferred to be kind to everyone, but he made it difficult. When she'd asked him for more information about his life, there had been a moment when he'd stared at looked at her. As a pink girl, she was used to getting strange looks, but he hadn't seemed disturbed in the slightest. She recalled how his eyes had looked her full in the face, not dipping to her chest, as many other men did when she was in uniform.

Mina recalled his blush. To see such a large young man feel self-conscious enough to turn red was something that put butterflies in her stomach. He'd even flushed when she called him a study slut, which only made him all the more intriguing to her. _Relax, Mina. He just wants to study._ She told herself. _Ah man, I'm no good at studying! I probably need as much help as he does._ The last thought had a tinge of desperation. In her first year, she hadn't studied until it was too late. _I'll turn over a new leaf! I'll turn into a studious person. _

In her excitement, she realized she had forgotten to grab a few other people for the table. "Tsu!" She called in delight upon seeing her frog-like friend.

"Ribbit?"

"Come on, let's help Jack study!"

"You, Mina? It's the first day of classes," the girl said in her typical Tsu fashion – blunt honesty, with a side of befuddlement.

Mina smiled self-depreciatingly. "Waiting until the deadline didn't work out for me last time, so I figured I'd try something new," she said in full honesty. She was still committed to the five-minute-old resolution.

Thankfully, Tsu didn't fight it. "Okay, Mina. Let me go get my stuff."

Even as Tsu headed back to her recently vacated room, Mina rushed to find Momo and Eijiro. Both agreed and within ten minutes, everyone was seated at a table in the common area. Momo guided everyone through key components they had learned the year prior before transitioning to what they'd learned in class just hours before.

Mina tried to be a good student and study, but she couldn't help but occasionally stare at Jack, who seemed torn between a look of utmost concentration and occasional bashfulness, as if he were struggling to focus.

"Are you keeping up alright, Jack? Do I need to slow down?" Momo asked in the middle of their review.

"I think I've got it," he said cautiously, as if he were stepping over a landmine.

_Wrong answer!_ Mina knew from experience what would happen next.

"Can you explain it to me?" Unless Momo knew that her students were all caught up, she'd refuse to move on to the next lesson.

Luckily, Jack was able to reiterate everything, though he stumbled over his words more often than not. The study session lasted for hours. Momo requested everyone meet again the following night, but Eijiro and Mina were careful not to give very committal answers. At seven in the evening, they dispersed.

Jack kept his gym clothes on and went down the elevator. Mina noticed how he looked at his phone with a sad smile.

As quickly as she'd made her resolution, Mina felt her resolve begin to crumble. Her head was spinning with all the information and she felt dazed. Eijiro seemed likewise exhausted. She and her red-headed friend flopped down in front of the TV, where Denki and Hanata sat watching the news. Kyoka listened to music on her phone, but had an earbud out so she could be a part of the conversation.

"Are you guys trying to burn yourselves out early?" Denki teased. "We have months left before we get far enough behind to actually crack a book."

Eijiro laughed and shrugged at once. "Suddenly Mina wants to study. When a friend asks you for something, it's rude to tell them no."

Hanata grinned knowingly. "Are you using a study group as an excuse to get closer to our transfer student?"

"Well, yeah," she admitted shamelessly, "don't you want to know more? There has to be some sort of scandal for a guy to move out of a country just because his mom got remarried, or else he's the biggest saint in the world! Didn't you hear what he said? _Scholarships and sponsors_! What's he running from to give that all up?"

Kyoka seemed uncomfortable with the intrusion. "It's not any of our business, Mina. Did you see how uncomfortable he looked at lunch? I can understand someone not wanting the spotlight on them."

"I just want to know as his friend," Mina stated with a smile. "We are on a first-name basis, after all." The last statement was purely teasing, as he'd asked everyone to call him Jack instead of Allen.

"It feels so personal to call someone by their first name after knowing them for just a day." Denki muttered as scrolled through the TV guide, checking for any of his favorite shows.

Momo, as the smartest one in class, had an obvious solution. "Why don't you just look him up online? We live in an era of information."

"Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" Denki said, slowing his search as he joined the conversation. "Why don't you just get to –"

Mina whipped out her phone and tapped away. "How do you spell 'Allen'? Is it A-L-E-N? Or two L's, or is it A-L-A," she trailed off, overwhelmed with the results. "There's too many!" Mina dramatically tossed her phone to Kyoya, who was surprised, but caught it without too much fumbling. "You find it, Kyoya. You're better with online snooping than me."

Kyoya turned a vibrant shade of red, as if one of her darkest secrets had been revealed.

Hanata couldn't resist the opportunity to tease the generally quiet girl. "Is that true, Kyoya? Do you do this sort of thing often?"

"Is it a side-job, or just a hobby?" Denki added, grinning from ear to ear. He set down the remote and leaned in to watch the search. "Oh, click that one!"

"No, Denki, I'm not clicking _that_," Kyoya yelped, turning abruptly away.

Eijiro looked on the screen to peek at what Kyoya didn't want to see. His head tilted to the side. "Why is that creepy guy with a mullet rubbing two eggs together?"

"I've seen weirder starts to films," Denki chuckled, leaning to get a look at the strange picture once more.

"Mina, take it back. Denki's trying to look at Russian porn again."

"This is _American _porn!" Denki corrected with a laugh.

Tenya, Ochacho, and Izuku returned from dinner at that precise moment. Upon hearing the word 'porn', Tenya used his leg motors and rushed to confiscate what he believed to be Denki's phone. "You dare to sully our school's internet with such deplorable—" he looked down at the image. Like the others, he was confused by the man with the brown haired mullet and eggs. "What on earth did you search?"

"I know, right?" Denki chuckled.

Izuku glanced at the screen and narrowed his eyes. "Tenya, could you scroll down a little?"

Tenya did as requested and the image of a young blonde boy hoisted on a large man shoulders came into view. "I think that's him."

Even Denki, who had insisted that they were invading someone's privacy, was interested. "Well, what'd you find?" He asked, filled with curiosity.

Izuku wasn't very familiar with American heroes, but he knew the large man, who was close to the physical equivalent of Muscular, but taller. "I'm almost positive that's Mister Titanic. He's the closest thing the States has to All Might."

"Whoa, seriously?" Hanata gasped. "Let me see!"

As other students crowded around, Mina became the last to get to see her phone. "Aww, little Jack is so cute. I wonder if Mister Titanic rescued him or something."

For all her morals, Momo couldn't help but want to solve the riddle. "It says here that Jack is Mister Titanic's son."

"Tenya, why didn't you tell us?" Mina gasped.

"I didn't know. I don't make it a point to pry into the personal lives of my family's employees, nor do I keep up with American heroes."

"Then why'd you blab about him over lunch?" Denki asked, though the question wouldn't receive an answer. In that moment, Ochaco, who had grown strangely competitive, raised her fist in triumph.

"I found a picture of Mister Titanic and All Might together!" She sent it to the class group text, which didn't yet include Jack. Her peers stared in awe.

"They could have been friends," Izuku speculated. In the photo, the two appeared to be at ease in one another's company. All Might had his arm companionably around Mister Titanic's shoulder.

"Wow, he's just a little bit taller than All Might," Ochaco remarked.

"Now, now. Size isn't everything," Tenya declared, trying to defend All Might.

There was a moment of stunned silence before all of the dirty minded students began to chortle. Tenya's face became crimson and he defaulted to mechanical, jerky arm movements. "That's not what I meant and you all know it! Everyone get to bed, it's a school night!"

"Yes, Mom." The two words were called from too many voices to name.

Though Tenya followed his own advice, most of the class went to bed on their own time.

By eleven, Mina forced herself to trail off to bed, even though she didn't feel tired.


	4. The Pro's Mistake

**The Pro's Mistake**

* * *

During the much-needed study session, Jack couldn't help but feel like a bumbling idiot. When Momo had him explain the lesson in front of Ejiro, Tsu, and Mina, he was relieved that Eijiro and had the decency to look at his notes and Tsu could nod encouragingly. Mina had watched with a dazed look in her eye, as if she were falling asleep with every word he said.

_Am I doing this wrong?_ He fumbled and forced himself to concentrate on Momo, who radiated encouragement. Even as he explained himself further, he could feel Mina's eyes on him. Naturally, he was nervous to have anyone's attention so locked upon his every motion.

He prayed his answer had been satisfactory enough.

"Excellently done!" Momo proclaimed. "We can meet again tomorrow, same time?" She spoke to the entire table. Tsu agreed easily, but Jack could sense hesitation from Eijiro and Mina, who seemed far less motivated than at the beginning of their session.

Jack wouldn't tap out so easily. He agreed to meet again, knowing that his studies would be one of his biggest obstacles. He looked at his phone and saw dozens of notifications from his old high school friends. One of the newest posts were of one of his buddies sitting on a villain's back. **#Takedown #TookLongerWithoutTheRoidRage**

"What the fuck is Roid Rage?" Katsuki asked from beside the giant's elbow.

Jack jumped, as he hadn't expected to be the only person in the elevator. Not only was Katsuki there, but Shoto as well. Both were still in their gym uniforms.

"Are you taking steroids?" Shoto asked, sounding confused.

"What? No." He took a moment to turn off his screen and slip his phone into his pocket. "My friends used to joke that I was, but I never have."

"Your preschool friends?" Katsuki sounded as if he was taunting the new kid, but Jack couldn't be sure.

"Y-yeah. Is it abnormal to keep in touch with old friends?"

"It's not," Shoto assured Jack. "Izuku and Katsuki have known each other from grade school."

Jack took a moment to match names with faces. He pieced his observations carefully together. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you run around calling people extras, shout about murder when you lose, and threaten your oldest friend so constantly that the entire class has tuned it out?" Judging by Katsuki's growing glower, Jack had been accurate on all points.

"Katsuki's training to be a barbarian hero," Shoto said flatly.

Caught in a moment of inspiration, Jack smiled and reached out his hand, as if to shake with Katsuki. "It's nice to meet a fellow American."

"Shut up! I'll end you!" Katsuki shouted, shoving Jack's arm away.

Jack and Shoto shared a silent grin, but mutually decided not to push Katsuki any farther.

"Are you going somewhere in particular?" Though he'd been quiet at lunch, Shoto seemed reasonably talkative away from his classmates.

"I was just going to go for a jog on the track then call my dad."

"Is something wrong?" While a part of Shoto knew that most children had reasonable relationships with their father, he sometimes had difficulty comprehending the idea of willingly keeping on touch.

The elevator doors opened and the trio stepped out, Katsuki first with Shoto and Jack behind. "No, nothing's wrong. He probably just wants me to say I've made a mistake and go back to live with him. He's not too happy that I left."

"Do you regret coming?"

Shoto's blunt honesty had an innocent, disconnected trait that Jack found somewhat unnerving. "I'm not sure yet," he admitted. They pushed through the dorms' double doors and into the cool evening. Jack didn't know the duo's designation, but it was apparently to the left, while the track was to the right.

They parted ways without a word of farewell. Jack worked on his endurance training with a three hour run. At time's he'd sprint a few laps, then perform a slower jog to cool down. His fit-watch monitored his steps and heartrate, all of which was visible to his parents.

Just a few minutes past ten, he returned to the dorms, showered, and threw on a clean T-shirt and basketball shorts. The moment he had finished getting dressed, a call rang through.

"Hey, Dad."

* * *

After an hour of conversation, Mister Titanic, legal name Charlie Chavez, let his son go to sleep.

Jack only got five hours of rest before his blaring alarm announced the start of a new day. As he'd done the morning prior, Jack began by reading the lesson and familiarizing himself with the material; all the while hoping he could retain the self-discipline to keep up the habit. He'd spent years not studying and wasn't sure if he was going about his schoolwork the right way. He figured he'd find out come midterms.

**_You're the best of the best in America. You'll fail in Japan._**

His father's words came unbidden to his mind. He felt his eyes stare at the same line of text for a few seconds. "I know," he muttered to the echo in his head. For just a moment, Jack considered throwing the book across the room. He channeled every ounce of resolve he could find to keep going. "I owe it to Mom to try."

Once he'd finished the chapter on his first subject, he began to read the second, then the third. Another preset alarm squeaked on his phone, letting him know to get to homeroom. He arrived just in the nick of time, settling in only seconds before the bell rang.

Jack almost always felt as if a dark cloud hung over him – it was a part of his quirk, but today it seemed exceptionally dreary. The rational part of him knew that his father spoke out of love, not a will to crush Jack's spirit. Both he and his dad knew that Jack had been in his dream school, surrounded by friends, and flourishing.

Only his mother, Carol, had seen things differently. While Jack joked about American barbarians, Carol had truly believed his friends were bad influences. They joked about steroids and posted wild escapades on social media even before officers could be called to secure a crime scene, plus they employed tactics that other heroes sometimes frowned upon, such as entrapment.

The door closed and Ectoplasm took his spot as teacher. He began to write on the board and begin the mathematics lesson. Jack looked twice at his watch and hurriedly dug out the appropriate textbook and a spiral-bound notebook to follow along.

Come lunchtime, Jack was too stressed to feel hungry. He intentionally packed up his books slowly enough to avoid speaking with his peers. When Fumikage - the last student - left for the dining hall Jack walked a few spaces behind him, gradually adding distance with each slowed stride. _If I say I'm going to study, someone might feel obliged to help. I don't want to make anyone miss out on lunch_.

He didn't think anyone would notice his absence, since his peers had such tight bonds. Even with Tenya going out of his way to produce a welcome wagon, Jack knew that he was separated by a different culture and experiences that didn't parallel with the common Japanese hero.

**_Just come home_**_. _

_ Mom wanted me to come. I owe her this._

Jack didn't want to talk and lose any of the precious information stored in his head, so he timed his reentry to class for the very last possible moment. His worst class, the one with no rhyme or reason, was just around the corner – Modern Literature.

Cementoss began class without welcoming Jack to UA, just as the teen hoped would happen. As he had during the morning session, Jack never once raised his hand to answer a question, but he never slacked in his note taking or rapt attention to the teacher. Thanks to his quirk, he could operate on a scant amount of sleep. _I'll just have to make sure not to overdo it._

Once the hellish two hours were over, Jack packed up and was the first out the door.

For the rest of the week, he kept to his schedule.

On Saturday morning, Jack woke up earlier than normal, with the intent of boarding a train. The large teenager walked through the hall and down to the common area, where he saw one of his classmates dressed and wide awake. "Morning, Tenya." If he was surprised to see someone else up at four in the morning, Jack didn't show it.

"Good morning," Tenya echoed. "Were you going to see your mother, today?"

Jack nodded. "She asked if I'd come see her occasionally"

Tenya stood and headed towards the elevator. Naturally, Jack fell in stride beside his classmate, as he figured he and Tenya were going in the same direction.

Jack took his backpack for the weekend getaway. In it, he had the textbooks he'd need to study and a change of clothes for Sunday. Tenya and Jack walked to the train stop in silence and boarded the hold together. Thanks to the early hour, they were able to find a pair of seats beside one another.

Tenya broke the silence. "Are you angry with me for revealing a part of your personal life? It's been brought to my attention that it could be conveyed as rude and that I put you on the spot."

Jack had his head so full of schoolwork that he had to think carefully before he recalled the lunchroom conversation. "Oh, no. I don't really have secrets."

"So, you don't mind that people know about your father?" Tenya sought to confirm.

Since Jack didn't know of the late-night search, he figured Tenya meant Jack's stepfather, Akira. "I don't mind. He's a good man."

Emboldened by Jack's nonchalant answers, Tenya pressed further. "How does your dad know All Might?"

"Through work, I'd guess. I didn't really know that he knew All Might. There's lots I don't know about him."

Tenya was surprised. "You don't know much about your own father?"

Jack wondered if he should feel guilty. "Not really."

The quick spurt of conversation was broken by Tenya's relieved sigh. "Some of those in class thought you hated us, but you seem as personable as ever to me."

Jack felt a quick surge of guilt. "I wanted some space," he admitted, able to hear the weakness of his comment.

Tenya took a moment to push his glasses onto his face. He'd thought on the situation all last night. "Are you worried about classes? I remember you expressed concern before."

"Yeah," he admitted, glad to talk to someone. "I'm scrabbling to play catch up."

"I don't mean to be pushy, but like I said before, I'm always available to help. The Iida family owes yours a great debt. We're honored that your mother wanted to come back with Mister Akira Sato."

Jack nodded briefly. "I'll remember that. Thanks, Tenya."

Though Tenya wanted to speak more, he could tell that Jack was worn out. The rest of the one hour commute was spent in silence. Despite himself, Jack was lulled to sleep by the train's low and steady hum. He awakened just in time for his and Tenya's stop – Ingenium's agency.

Jack and Tenya grabbed their respective bags and headed inside, where they both were checked in by a doorman and a card system. Tenya excused himself to the locker room, where he stowed his belongings and got changed into his head to toe suit.

Thanks to his brief rest, Jack felt a bit less prone to a temper. He made his way through the half familiar halls to tech support. A team of ten engineers were employed by the Iida agency. They took shifts at the lab, always ensuring that at least two techs were available for the vast team of heroes and sidekicks.

For the most part, Akira and Carol took the night shifts. Jack slid his access card. While the door opened, he put booties on his shoes, as to eliminate static charge and not damage any gear.

"Jack!" His mother called, caught between elation to see her son, and confusion that he was awake. "You should be asleep."

One year prior, Akira had been sent to America for paraplegic technology. Seventeen years before that, Jack had paralyzed Carol from the waist down, just by being born. His mother had light brunette hair of an uncertain length, since she always kept it pulled back in a bun.

A head peeked around a suit, which was in the process of being fine-tuned and made more limber by Akira's grease quirk. "Hello, Jack," his black haired step-father said welcomingly, his naturally quiet voice almost lost in Carol's enthusiastic steps to her son.

Just before she arrived, Jack had to look at the ugly gear webbed around her hips and legs. She had worked hard to find someone willing to take her case and then develop the technology with them. Though she had kicked and screamed to get the project funded and had to fight for every step, his mother left America easily enough for Akira.

Jack made sure to stay behind the yellow line, as he didn't have any clearance to go further than the observation deck, lifted several feet higher than the rest of the factory. "Keep doing what you're doing, Mom. I can wait." She was due to clock off within half an hour anyway. At that time, the day crew would arrive.

Of course, Carol ignored him. She captured her only child in a tight embrace, careful not to let her gear touch him. "You haven't been sleeping," she said stiffly, her lips dripping into a frown.

"I thought we agreed not to use our quirks on each other," Jack muttered, releasing his hold so she could pull away. Her useful ability was 'analytics', where she could analyze the components anything, living or not, with her hands.

"Jack," she sighed, drawing herself backwards to look her boy in the eye. The look of disappointment she gave him was enough for him to turn his head away. "It's dangerous. Akira, back me up on this."

"No, thank you," the stepfather muttered into his work.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Carol asked sternly, unwilling to drop the subject.

"I'll go to the apartment and sleep, if you'd prefer." The giant young man sounded subdued by the significantly smaller woman, who was only five foot two. In hindsight, it had been a terrible idea for her and Mister Titanic to have their one night stand.

Catching Jack's look of defeat, Carol felt disappointed with herself for lecturing him. He had been a difficult child to parent. Charlie, who was Mister Titanic outside of the suit, had to live with Carol and Jack for years, as a paraplegic couldn't handle a boy with Herculean strength and home-destroying temper tantrums.

The times before preschool had been rough for everyone. If Jack or his father didn't get enough sleep, their tempers would ignite at the drop of a coin.

Carol went down the steps and headed back to her work.


	5. Misconceptions

**Misconceptions**

* * *

Mina tossed and turned for hours, unable to get her mind off the newest school scandal – the transfer student. She imagined situations that could make a pro-hero's son flee a country. _He said he didn't do steroids, but maybe he did other drugs._ She stared at the vibrant heart rug in the corner of her room, heavily debating on whether or not she wanted to play some games on her tablet.

_He's really strong. Maybe he wanted more competition. _

_ Tenya said that Jack **chose** to come. Maybe his dad doesn't have custody rights? _

If anything else, the mystery was keeping her from being bored, but it also chased any thoughts of sleep away. By the time morning rolled around, Mina only managed to steal a few hours of sleep.

Ochaco even had to knock on the door. "Mina? Are you feeling okay?" Her friend called.

"Huh? I'm awake!" Mina called out instinctively.

There was a giggle on the other side. "Are you sure? That's what you say when you're _asleep_."

"This is my new leaf! I'm totally awake," Mina responded, sounding as chipper as ever.

"I got us two granola bars from the vending machine. Come on, we're going to be late!"

Mina, as a professional procrastinator, reveled in proving Ochaco wrong. The girls darted into class with five minutes to spare. As they hurriedly rounded the corner, Tenya greeted them with his usual spunk.

"No running in class! You'll damage school property!"

Katsuki, who seemed even more prickly than usual, shot back, "shut up, Thunder Thighs, or I'll shove another stick up your ass." In a moment of inspiration, he broke from the typical nickname of Four-Eyes.

In her sleep deprivation, Mina found the comment and surprising new nickname particularly hilarious. "Tenya, if you ever become a stripper, please use the name Thunder Thighs."

Ochaco noticed their missing classmate and frowned. "Guys, I feel bad. Do you think somehow he might have overheard us last night?"

"We didn't do anything wrong. All we did was look him up online," Toru said, though she sounded as if she were feeling slightly guilty.

"Nobody said anything mean. The dude's just so shy. We wanted to know more about him," Denki assured his classmates.

Tsu frowned at her classmate. "So if somebody found something about you online and you didn't tell them about it, would you be okay with them knowing?"

"Sure," Denki declared, "I've got nothing to hide."

"Let's see your browser history," Mina teased.

Denki grinned and winked. "It's already deleted."

"Ever since Minoru got kicked out, you've really embraced the roll of class pervert, Denki," Rikido taunted.

At that precise moment, Jack slipped into his seat.

The bell rang and Aizawa made the class announcements. "Your first week will be review of what we learned last year. Next week, you'll have a rescue exercise with Thirteen and All Might in the USJ."

Though Mina didn't think she'd done anything wrong, she couldn't help but glance at Jack. _He looks so beaten down. _At first, she only felt a trickle of guilt for invading his privacy. _I'll just be honest and tell him it was all my idea. Nobody can stay mad at this face!_

Through math and science, Jack didn't look at anyone. He seemed entirely focused on the lessons, as if they were the sole reason he came to school. _Even Momo's not that into it_, Mina glanced at their last-year class VP and compared the two. While Momo had a serious expression, it was nothing compared to Jack's tunnel vision.

Lunch break couldn't come soon enough. Despite her study party the day before, Mina felt as if she hadn't retained any bit of information. She plopped down into a chair and rested her head on her arms.

Mashirao curved his tail to his left side before sitting. "Did something happen to Jack? Are you already bullying him, Katsuki?"

"Why am I getting blamed?" Katsuki snapped. "It's Thunder Thighs' fault for blabbing."

"He thanked me for speaking up for him," Tenya proclaimed defensively.

Tsu frowned at her friend for being so naïve. "You decided to share for him. He's probably a nice person that didn't want to make you feel bad."

Mina fiddled awkwardly with her chopsticks. "Should someone try to find him?" Jack hadn't joined them at the lunch table.

The majority of the class was uncertain. "Just leave him alone, you wannabes." Katsuki gruffly stated. "The last thing anyone wants when they're in a new place is a bunch of extras wasting their time."

"Wow, Katsuki. You almost sounded considerate for a second," Mina teased.

"Maybe he's really bad with confrontation," Kyoka suggested.

Hanata frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe we're just bugging him."

One of Mezo's many arms spoke for his face. "Are we too much?"

They could only theorize, but nobody had a real answer. Mina found herself frustrated all over again. Throughout the week, she and her classmates tried to pin Jack down, only for all of them to fall short.

"Who'da thought a big guy could sneak around like that," Eijiro said on Friday night, when they were all disheartened from their many failed attempts at conversation. "Maybe we can get him tomorrow."

Surprisingly, Tenya shook his head. "I'll talk to him. His mother works with my family's company, so it's my responsibility."

Days passed, but nobody made any headway. Mina was busy packing up her books when Toru's voice spoke in her ear. "Let's follow him," the invisible hero suggested. Mina hopped from her seat and they were off. Both girls darted stealthily from corner to corner, making sure they didn't stand out on any open stretch of hall. They zigzagged after Jack from their classroom all the way to his final destination. "He's skipping out on lunch to go to study hall?" Mina was befuddled. She and Toru went to the cafeteria to report their findings.

Mashirao seemed oddly disappointed in them. "He clearly wants to be left alone. We probably shouldn't follow him again." Though the tailed teen had done nothing wrong, he chose to include himself in the wrong instead of pointing fingers.

Yuga seemed amused. "Which one of you has a crush on him?" The French boy asked, pointing his index finger in the air, winking, and grinning knowingly at them both. He acted as if he had a sixth sense for romance.

Mina straightened, suddenly considering her own feelings.

"Maybe," Toru mused. "He seemed like such a fun guy!"

Tenya seemed to reach his limit. "Don't speak about him as if he's gone! I, Iida Tenya, will apologize to Jack for my insensitivity. We are a class and must all learn how to get along!"

Mina would give Tenya a chance, but was ready with a backup plan in case he didn't succeed. She went to bed with her head full of thoughts.

* * *

Saturday morning rolled by lazily. Even after a night filled of thinking, Mina none the wiser to whether or not she liked Jack. _I mean, yeah, I could like him, if he didn't suddenly shut everyone out. He's tall and incredibly handsome. Plus he seemed kind._ Catching herself, she sighed and rolled face first into her pillow. _I'm thinking of him in past tense!_ She shook her head and went to the girls' showers.

Last year she had to check every corner for Minoru before she got naked. Out of habit, she peeked around the corners before she felt secure enough to strip and set about her routine.

Momo did the same when she stepped into the bathroom. Mina noticed and giggled.

"It's strange not having that little pervert around," Mina mentioned.

"It's almost more unnerving than having him around," Momo admitted.

Mina rinsed out her shampoo. "He's probably curled away in someone's underwear drawer as we speak," she theorized with a shudder. "He was so _tiny_, he could fit into the strangest places."

"He could use his sticky balls anywhere," Momo agreed, shuddering at the memory.

Kyoka opened the door just in time. "…why are you talking about Minoru's balls?"

Momo was utterly embarrassed, but Mina laughed until she cried. "Good one, Kyoka!"

Though Kyoka hadn't been harassed by Minoru as much as the other girls, she still made sure to look around before she went about doing her hair.

By the time the trio finished, it was nearly eleven in the morning. "Let's have a girls' day!" Mina suggested, joyous at the idea. "It's our first free Saturday for the semester, so we may as well enjoy it. You guys get ready. I'll go tell the others!" Momo took an infinitely long time on her hair and Kyoka liked to listen to music in the tiled room, so it was up to Mina to gather Toru, Tsu, and Ochaco.

It took them until noon to all get ready and dressed in street clothes. "So Ochaco," Mina asked with an impish smile, "when are you going to ask Izuku out?"

The topic never failed to make Ochaco's naturally pink cheeks redden. She had admitted her feelings towards the end of last year, but only to the girls. Izuku remained as oblivious as ever. "We're so busy, it'd be silly to start up a relationship," she muttered, glancing to Tsu for help.

"Quit teasing her, Mina. If you want someone to go out so badly, why don't you just ask out one of the boys?" As always, Tsu was good for a rescue.

"Because, silly, today is girl day!" Mina answered teasingly. A moment later, she pouted. "Besides, who in the world would want to go out with someone that's pink?" Mina stared at the back of her hand. She gave up on any personal romances when she was a child, but that didn't stop her for hoping for others to find love.

Toru piped up, "no way, Mina! You're beautiful! Any guy would be lucky to go out with you."

"You'll never know if you don't try," Tsu reasoned. "Why not Eijiro?"

Mina burst out laughing at the suggestion. "No way, he's my best friend! I could see him going on a date with Katsuki before me."

"Why not Tenya?" Ochaco suggested, doing everything in her power to keep the topic away from her and Izuku.

"You could always ask out Jack. If things feel weird, just say you're showing him around," Kyoka suggested.

Mina latched to the last statement. "That's a great idea, Kyoka." She snapped her fingers, as if giving it her stamp of approval. "What'd you find during your online stalking?"

Kyoka glanced to Tsu for help. "Don't look at me, Kyoka. You have a serious problem," the frog-girl said seriously.

Red as a tomato, Kyoka relented and shared her findings. "Apparently he's gone to nothing but all guy schools. For whatever reason, those are big at private schools in America. He's been in a lot of martial arts and fighting tournaments, both with or without quirks."

"So he's a scrapper," Ochaco surmised, sounding interested. "I wonder if he could help teach me some fighting moves."

"He didn't seem girl awkward," Momo remarked. "Does he have sisters?"

"No. He's an only child. Come to think of it, I think Tenya and Shoto are the only ones in our class with siblings." Kyoka was surprised at the sudden epiphany. Since the quiet girl had likely done some low-key internet stalking on all of the students, the girls readily believed her.

They spent their outing eating unhealthy food and trying on clothes. Near the evening, they decided to go back to the dorms, mostly as to not incur Aizawa's wrath.


	6. An Uncomfortable Truth

**An Uncomfortable Truth**

* * *

Jack headed back to the apartment to wait. Though he considered studying or sleeping, he settled for glancing through social media. He'd been tagged in dozens of posts from his old classmates. #ThisisHardWithoutRoidRage, #GetYourAssBackHere, and of course #Murica! He didn't have to read between the lines to feel missed.

Only because he didn't know what to say to anyone, Jack didn't send any messages in return. He promised his mother to graduate from UA, but had no clue what lie beyond that. Would he go back to America, where his real code name was overshadowed by the alias of 'Roid Rage'? Or would he stay in Japan and make a better name for himself?

_It's easier when nobody knows about my biological father. Nobody here has unreasonable goals for me_. Likewise, he had no expectations for his classmates, who he still knew next to nothing about, save Tenya. Jack was aware of Tensei's paralysis and that a villain named Stain was the one responsible.

Thanks to Stain, Akira had been sent to America, interned in the same company as Carol, and the rest was history. Although Jack could have remained with Charlie Chavez, also known as Mister Titanic, Jack felt an obligation to stay with his mother. Even after years of being told it wasn't his fault and that he wasn't responsible for her, Jack felt like he had personally taken away his mother's legs.

It took him a surprisingly short time to drift off to sleep.

"Jack," Akira's soft voice said hours later. "Breakfast."

_Please don't let it be fish._

"Thanks, Ak—Dad." Akira made his mother the happiest she had ever been, so Jack went out of his way to make sure the man felt like a true part of the family.

Akira had wanted a child of his own for years. After hearing the horror stories of Jack's upbringing, he was glad for the level-headed teenager he'd been given. Hearing himself called 'Dad' brought him a strange joy. Especially since he'd earned the title without an ounce of rebellion or ever changing a diaper.

It was the epitome of a parenting win.

Jack sat up a bit more quickly at a smell in the air. _Bacon?_

He left his room and darted hopefully towards the kitchen. _Damn it, Akira._ These were words he'd learned to never say aloud. His mother had never cooked a day in her life and Charlie always ordered in.

Akira cooked with the vigor of a Japanese grandmother. "Pork misozuke-yaki," Akira said with a broad, proud smile as he introduced his dish; failing to explain the bright yellow diamondish shape on a plate beside it, or introduce the steaming bowl of mushrooms in some sort of leaf broth.

Jack didn't have to fake his look of fascination. "It looks great, Dad."

He could practically feel Akira's soul soar at the minor praise. Jack kneeled down at a table on the floor, his legs far too large to fit under the short surface, so he had to twist slightly to the side. While his mom and Akira fit easily, Jack was clearly belt for Western style tables.

"How are you doing in your classes, Jack?" Akira asked as he settled into eating. Judging by his face, he found his food to be delightful.

Jack had never considered himself a picky eater, but he almost winced when his chopsticks slid on the mystery yellow substance and his food exploded into a mess of half cooked eggs over rice and tomatoes. He'd later learn that he'd eaten omurice. "I'm mostly caught up in the lessons," he said nonchalantly, as if it had come naturally to him.

Akira nodded approvingly at his golden boy.

Carol decided to check on his other aspects of life. "Are you keeping out of trouble? I know it's your first time going to school with girls."

Jack couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm being good, Mom. I promise; I'm not going to ruin my studies by chasing after anyone."

"Why not?" Carol asked, teasing her child. "If you go on a few dates and get used to women, I just might have some grandkids one day."

"Just not anytime soon," Akira hurriedly added, not wanting Jack to rush right to that particular step.

Jack focused on his food, his face red at his mother's words. "Don't worry, Dad. A girlfriend's not on my agenda."

His mother wouldn't give it up. "You don't have to have a girlfriend. A date is all about getting to know someone. You don't know the first thing about girls, do you?"

"He knows you, dear, and you are most certainly a girl," Akira commented. While his words were amusing on their own, he sounded cautious, as if he were trying to talk down a gunman.

Before Carol could shove the remark back down Akira's throat, Jack hastily mentioned, "some of my friends had girlfriends. We'd all hang out together."

"It's different when you do it for yourself," Carol attempted to explain.

Though Jack was wary of the conversation, he kept his cool. "Is this really such a big deal to you?" He saw no point in dating. After experiencing the drawbacks in his quirk firsthand, he had no plans to pass it on; thus he had no need for a wife or eventual family.

Carol nodded.

"Then I can consider it," he offered, "once I begin to do well in my classes."

The trio finished dinner and Akira set to work cleaning up. Between carrying dishes back and forth to the sink, he picked a letter off the counter and carried to Jack. "This came for you. I've since changed your address, so there shouldn't be any more mistakes."

Of course, the envelope was already ripped open. Carol was terribly intrusive. "Congratulations, you don't have to reapply for a provisional hero's license!"

Jack was relieved he wouldn't have to start from scratch. He'd had his license since he was fourteen and had gone on many patrols with Mister Titanic. "Great," he breathed, relieved. He left the official certificate alone, but slipped the identification card into his phone case.

"I guess that means we won't see you anymore," Carol said, half joking, half honestly. "In hindsight, it was silly for me to insist you leave America to go to a hero boarding school."

Jack didn't want to agree, but he did. He settled for silence.

"At least you're making new friends, right? Tell me about the kids in your class."

Jack always took the honest route not because it was heroic, but because he was a terrible liar. "Well," he began hesitantly. He could see the sharply twisted mouth and narrowed eyes. "Apparently they looked you up, Dad." Jack deployed the distraction tactic. "I didn't know you knew All Might." He scrabbled at the topic Tenya had brought up on the train.

Akira appeared stunned. "I do?"

Jack was likewise shocked. His attempt had failed. "Tenya said you did."

"Jack," Carol began sternly. "You _are_ talking to the kids in your class, aren't you? You aren't moping."

He didn't have long enough to linger on Tenya's strange proclamation or Akira's denial of the claim, as he had to hurry and answer his mother. "I talked to the kids in my class," he agreed, though he didn't deny his moping. Akira cleared the plates and began to wipe off the dishes.

As a mother, she had had dealt with his shenanigans for years. "Who? When? Why?"

"Dear, we need to get going," Akira said.

Carol glanced at the clock just over the sink, which read a quarter until eleven. "Shoot," she said, rushing out of the room to get ready.

"You have about ten minutes until she realizes I changed the clock," Akira told Jack. "If you need a chance to escape, go take a walk for an hour. I'm sorry, but your mother terrifies me too much to do more than this."

_True love at its finest_, Jack thought with a chuckle. "Thanks, Dad." Jack slipped out the front door and out to the cool night. They lived in a fairly crime-free ward, so there was little need for caution. Even so, the area was patrolled often.

Even if there was, hardly anyone wanted to pick on a 6'6 giant with no valuables on his person. He milled about, planning on returning home as soon as his parents left.

"Jack?" A voice asked from beneath a white, full body suit of metal.

Jack had seen each of the Iida team's suits so many times over the past year that he knew each one by heart. "Hello, Ingenium."

He spoke not to the original Ingenium, but to Tenya, the second holder of the name.

"It's not safe to be out so late. You could attract unwanted attention."

_That's nothing new_.

"Sorry, I'll be on my way." Jack didn't want another lecture, so he began to walk off the way he'd come.

"Wait a moment," Tenya said. "Do you have your provisional license?" Jack nodded. "There's a hoodlum in the area that seems to have some sort of lock picking quirk. If you're not doing anything, I wouldn't mind a hand in checking the matter out. They say two heads are better than one."

Jack agreed and the two exchanged phone numbers. "We'll meet back here in a few hours. Call me if you see him." Tenya instructed.

Jack wasn't much of a leader, but he was an excellent follower. He stepped into the night, remembering his training.

**_Look at it like you're the criminal_**, One of his old American friends had told him before. **_Where do you want to go? _**

_Somewhere darker. This is a populated area. I don't want to get caught. _He strode along, wary of the security cameras along every few rows of buildings. It took him only seconds to gauge the pattern and estimate their blind spots. Jack found a discarded piece of white paper and strolled along the apartments. Once he was sure he found one that was empty, he jotted the number down, followed by four digit code, which could be a key pattern, and tossed it to a visible portion of street. Blocks away, Jack's selected area had rows of apartments with their blinds closed, as if they all had something to hide. In addition to their seclusion, no security cameras were pointed his way.  
Jack leapt lightly onto a shadowy roof and waited. It took an hour, but by some miracle the plan worked. A slim being staggered into view. Judging by the scraggly facial hair and large, pointed nose Jack guessed he was looking at a man.. Even as he watched, Jack saw the being pick up the note. He glanced to the left, then the right, and slipped up the stairs to the apartment Jack had listed.

First, the man tried the code, only to fail. He winced at the loud beep and looked around once more. _He's quite the sloppy criminal_, the young hero couldn't help but note. Jack pointed his phone downwards and began recording, as he knew it was crucial to gather evidence. Or at least it had been in America.

The fellow's elongated nose morphed and he poked it in the keyhole. His head bobbed awkwardly, trying to find the right spot to disengage the gears.

Jack didn't want to use his quirk unless he had to. He stood on his high perch, a good two floors up from the would-be thief, and waited.

As soon as the door opened, Jack confirmed the attempted burglary. He ended the short clip, forwarded it to Tenya, and slipped down to a nearby stairwell. Jack sneaked around without any trouble. He got close enough to the man that he could reach out and touch the stranger on the back. "Hey," Jack whispered.

Pinocchio jumped like he'd been shot. His hand dove down to his hip, but Jack easily intercepted and used his vice-like grip to trap the criminal's wrist. Jack expected to see a gun, as he'd seen plenty of them back in the States, but there was only a knife at Pinocchio's belt. Jack chopped a pressure point on Pinocchio's neck to knock him out. As expected, he dropped like a rock.

Ingenium arrived in record time. "Is everything alright?" Ingenium asked urgently.

"Do you have handcuffs?" Jack asked as he looked down at his arrestee. Pinocchio didn't look like a typical criminal. Aside from his nose, everything else about him was perfectly unremarkable. Jack wasn't surprised he'd been able to avoid capture.

When it became clear that neither Tenya nor Jack had cuffs, Jack called local authorities, relayed the address, and scooped up the captive – to move him further from peoples' homes. He knew he'd be unnerved if a hero was on his doorstep with a potential thief and didn't want any citizens facing unnecessary anxiety. Tenya and Jack met the officers near the road, the latter of which viewed Jack with confusion. Ingenium was familiar, but the brute of a blonde was new. "Do you have your license, Sir?"

Thanks to his height, he was used to people thinking he was older than seventeen. He pulled his card out of a slot in his phone case. The policeman read quickly before handing it back to Jack. "Thank you for your help, Cataclysm."

"Not to be rude, young man," the other officer said, "but you might want to get a better hero costume. Your secret identity isn't very secret."

"I'll bear that in mind," Jack said evenly, struggling to keep a straight face. He loaded the crook into the cruiser and watched the cruiser pull away.

Jack and Tenya lingered, the former finding his classmate impossible to read with a screen in front of his face. "How were you able to find him so quickly?" Tenya asked, his tone more inquiring than impressed.

Jack explained his process, careful not to claim any credit for himself. "One of my friends taught me how criminals avoid law enforcement. All I did was look at things from his point of view."

"Fascinating," Tenya stated, clearly intrigued. "Were you considering entering the work study program with a specific ageny?"

"I don't know much about local heroes, so I was going to wait to get a list and look everyone up," Jack explained.

"That's a smart move," Tenya declared in agreement. "If you want, you could complete the program at the Iida Agency. Though we're not on the list, we'd be happy to take you on. Plus, you'd get to see your mother more."

Jack considered the offer carefully before answering. "I'll keep you guys in mind. Thanks for the offer, Tenya."

He headed back to the apartment, where he slept the rest of the night. When his parents got off work, he shared the morning meal with them. Jack didn't bring up what he'd done last night, as there was obvious tension between Akira and his mother. At the end of their meal, he bid them both farewell and hopped back on a train. He read his textbooks the entire trip home. While the break had been nice, he realized how antisocial he'd been in his effort to catch up.


	7. Cultural Experience

**Cultural Experience**

* * *

On Sunday, Mina's resolve to study more had been nearly forgotten. She sat with Koji on the couch with an animal docu-drama playing on the nature channel. While it wasn't her first pick, she was happy to let Koji have a turn with the remote. The shy animal-speaker had picked the channel maybe twice in his entire UA career.

"Hey, Jack!" she called when she finally saw the class's newest giant. There weren't many people around, so she had him largely to herself. Mina nearly jumped out of her seat in her haste to rush to his side. She searched his face for any reaction, but only saw wariness. "Are you scared of me?"

She made herself sound teasing, as she hoped to make him blush again. Unfortunately, her mission failed, because he only looked confused. "Do I need to be?"

Mina laughed, as she hadn't expected such an answer. "Nah, I'm harmless. _If_ you're acid resistant," she declared proudly. For just a moment, she waited to see if he had a reply. "You seem really stiff. Do you want to get out of here? I could show you some of the sights around UA."

"I'd appreciate it," Jack answered, sounding relieved. "Should we wait for more people?"

_So he _is _girl awkward. _

"I thought we could go, just the two of us," she declared with a beaming smile and grab of his hand. She'd always been told she had no manners. "Come on, I won't bite," Mina encouraged as she secretly enjoyed the warmth of his fingers.

For a moment, Jack looked positively stunned. He seemed to battle with himself before he pulled his palm free reached for his coat. "Alright," he agreed, ready to go.

Mina seemed surprised. "It's spring," she exclaimed, "you don't need that."

"Japan's colder than I'm used to." He said as he finished sliding on his outwear.

Curious, Mina took the opening and asked him some more about himself. "Where'd you grow up?" When she began to walk, he moved beside her. The duo left the common area, Mina aware of the heat that lingered on her palm. "Wow, you're hot," she remarked.

It was then that Jack's face flushed deep crimson.

Mina grinned so broadly that her eyes vanished into the folds of her cheeks. "I'm talking about your body temperature, silly. What'd you think I meant?"

"I-" he began, his voice radiating uncertainty.

He got even redder and it took all of Mina's resistance not to squeal. She settled for giggling. "I'll be good, I swear." The overly broad grin on her face looked anything but trustworthy.

Down they went, out to the fresh air. As was typical for Japanese schools, several cherry blossom trees dotted campus.

"LA," he answered, addressing at last where he was from. The city was well known, so he normally didn't have to explain himself. He seemed to note their surroundings more than her, but Mina didn't mind. It gave her a better chance to look at him. Maybe if he noticed and was surprised, he'd get embarrassed again.

Mina understood the general location, as expected. "Is it, like, _really_ hot there?" She wanted to make him talk more, but was cautious not to make him too uncomfortable.

"At this time of year, it's at least twenty degrees warmer."

_Oh great. We're stuck on the weather. I'm probably weirding him out. _

"So, you went to all-boy schools. What was that like?" The moment she said it, Mina realized that was an oddly specific bit of information to know. _Whoops_.

At least it got Jack to look at her. Both of his blonde brows were raised. He was clearly confused. "How'd you know that?"

Mina knew the truth was the best answer. "We may have looked you up," she said with a nervous laugh. Her hand lifted to fidget with her wild, fluffy hair.

"That makes sense." He sounded understanding, not as if he were even the least bit miffed.

"Wait, you don't care?" Mina's fingers untwisted from her mane and she stared up at him in awe.

Jack shrugged. "If it's online, it's public information."

Mina had been fully expected for a blow-up, or at least a dirty look. "If you're not mad that we spied on you, then why'd you avoid us all week?"

Even as she watched him, she saw a dark tint of worry turn his lips down. His eyes settled to look forward again, as opposed to at her. "It's the same thing as always. I need to study."

Mina could easily sympathize with him on academics. "You could explain things back to Momo that I didn't get, and I've been here for all the classes," she told him, her tone light as she sought to inspire hope.

"Then maybe I'll have a chance," he said, though he didn't sound very convinced. Before an awkward silence could descend, Jack rounded back to what Mina had asked before. "I liked going to an all guy school."

"Why's that?"

Jack's tone became apologetic. "Girls are distracting. None of my friends came closer to dropping out or failing than when they were dating someone."

Mina released a surprised chortle. "We can't help that we like attention," she declared, taking a stand for girls everywhere.

"One of my teammates had a girl call him _five times_ when we were in the middle of a search and rescue mission. She told him that she came first and that if she called, it would be his _honor_ to drop everything." Jack sounded equal parts exasperated and amused by the recollection.

"Oh yeah, that's bad," Mina agreed. "It sounds like she was a bit clueless about what it means to be a hero." As they walked, she found herself occasionally stealing glances at the tall teenager, though it was hard with their height difference. "There was a takoyaki stand around here last year. Want to go check it out? It's a sort of street food."

Her words seemed to hit a magic button, because he stood straighter. A small, almost cautious smile spread across his lips. For the first time, Mina saw more than a distant student or a polite hero in training, but a genuinely excited individual. "That sounds perfect."

Mina felt a strange feeling of warmth when he focused on her. She smiled so hard that her cheeks hurt. For once, she was speechless. Jack didn't mind, but not a word was spoken between them as they crossed the street.

_What's wrong with me? Calm down, Mina. He must really like octopus._

When they walked up to the stand, Mina quickly offered to pay. "It's my treat!" She said proudly, reaching down to her pockets. Mina paused and pouted. "Whoops, my bad."

"I've got it," Jack said before she even had to ask.

"Really? Thanks!" Mina heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry. I thought I grabbed my stuff before I left."

"You're welcome." Jack counted the bills out and offered them to the street cook. "We'll take twenty orders, please."

Mina wasn't sure if she was impressed or surprised. "You don't look like a glutton."

Jack handed over the correct amount of money and watched the vendor work. "It's for the rest of the class," he answered. "I shouldn't have shut everyone out and I'm no good at apologies, so I'm hoping food will bridge the gap."

"We could all eat outside, like a hanami!" By some luck, Mina had snagged her phone. She pulled up the group text and typed: **Takoyaki under the cherry-blossoms just outside our dorms. Ejiro, your job is to bring Katsuki. See everyone there! **

Jack looked confused. "A hanami?" He questioned, confident he'd never heard the word before.

"It's when friends and families eat under the cherry blossoms," Mina explained. Instant responses chimed, all of which were of her fellow classmates agreeing to the arrangement.

As soon as they had all of their order, Mina called a brief thanks to the stand operator. She and Jack headed one block over, back to campus. Though she had forgotten her wallet, Mina carried her UA ID and provisional license tucked away in her phone case, as those were two rather important bits of plastic. Mina quickly scanned the messages and grinned. "You'll have the class won over in no time," she assured Jack.

It took Mina and Jack ten minutes to walk to the tree in front of the dorms. By that time, Tenya had put out a cooler full of beverages and several classmates had arrived. Momo created a large picnic blanket with UA's logo on it. Little by little, everyone filed from their respective locations to the impromptu hanami.

Jack wordlessly set the takoyaki on the center of the quilt and backed away. While he didn't close off like before, Mina could tell he was nowhere near as warm as he could be. "Hey," Mina said, her elbow reaching out to nudge the tall fellow. Once he looked down at her, she grinned and pointed at her cheeks. "Try smiling," she suggested.

The answering grin was nowhere near as wide as Mina liked it. "What's something that makes you happy?"

Eijiro and Katsuki arrived last. Mina guessed by Eijiro's wary distance that Katsuki had put up more of a fight than normal. "Takoyaki?" Eijiro said excitedly. "Who bought this?"

"Me," Jack answered. "I didn't mean to shut everyone out last week. I'm no good at apologizing, so have some food."

Most of the class chuckled at the light humor. "Screw up as much as you want," Mashirao encouraged. "I like homemade fried rice."

"I like any sort of candy," Toru declared.

"I can't guarantee anyone's safety if I'm the chef, so I'll get premade things." Jack continued to hover slightly away from everyone else, as if unsure of who he felt comfortable enough to sit beside.

Eijiro and Katsuki filled the spaces beside him. "Only idiots can't cook," Katsuki said flatly. Izuku passed two boxes of food to the newest arrivals.

Jack had no intention of defending himself, nor did he seem particularly disturbed by Katsuki's declaration.

"I can assure you, Jack is no idiot," Tenya declared defensively.

"Nobody cares what you think, Thunder Thighs," Katsuki spat.

"Geeze, Katsuki calm down." Mina couldn't help but roll her eyes. While she was used to the most explosive tempered boy, some days he was too much.

"Shut up, extra."

Mina looked at Jack, who seemed to have a strange look in his eye. "Hey, is everything alright?"

Jack snapped back to reality. Mina belatedly recognized the anger in his gaze. Even as she watched, the spark faded, leaving only his clear blue eyes its wake. "I didn't get much sleep over the weekend," he admitted.

"I apologize for that," Tenya stated at once.

Izuku was the quickest to put the pieces together. "Did you go to the Iida agency together?"

Katsuki stabbed his toothpick into the flavorful street food and was unable to make commentary, which afforded everyone a minute of peace.

"We did. Tenya ambushed me."

Tenya sputtered. "I-I wouldn't call it an ambush," he proclaimed defensively.

Jack allowed himself to smile, as he wasn't the one being teased for once. "I spoke to my dad, Tenya, and he said he'd never met All Might."

Ochaco was confused. "But we all saw the picture," she said with a befuddled frown.

Denki typed in his phone and pulled up the image in question. "This isn't your dad?"

Jack leaned in to get a closer look, his expression carefully controlled. "You guys are really good investigators," he complimented. "May I send myself this link? I forgot this picture even existed."

"Go for it," Denki replied, his confusion evident. Jack typed in his number and sent the link to his phone.

Mina could feel her own curiosity struggling to get out, but nobody wanted to ask a wrong question and make Jack withdraw all over again. Though the conversations changed and the night was a fun one, several students went to bed with even more unanswered questions about the strange transfer student.

_He's so confusing!_ Mina told herself as she dropped stomach first on her bed. _Are all Americans this weird?_


	8. A Valiant Effort

**A Valiant Effort**

* * *

Jack slid his backpack under his bed, as to better resist the temptation to study. He could feel how burnt out he was and how desperately he needed a break. The young man took a moment to close his eyes and think. _How do I approach a room full of people that think I hate them?_ The thought had laid heavily on his mind, but he couldn't find an answer.

He decided to wing it. Maybe if he was friendly to one or two people, he'd eventually be re-welcomed by the rest of the class. Hopefully, he'd be better at taking hints and not miss out on another opportunity. _It was only a week._ He feared they'd given up on him anyway. From their point of view, he'd snubbed their efforts to get to know him.

Through some sort of feminine trickery on her part, Mina convinced Jack to go on campus with her. Just them. One on one. _Did Mom take Mina's phone number from Tenya?_ His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden snatch to his hand. He carefully loosened his grip, as to not accidentally break any of her fingers. He felt his pulse begin to race at the touch. For as long as he'd lived, he hadn't had someone grab his hand so companionably. As casually as he could, he tugged away, quickly making up some half-truth about needing a coat. Truthfully, he was terrified of hurting her.

They walked and spoke for a while. Jack couldn't be flattered that Mina had chosen to show him around. Though she'd never said it was a date, it was just the two of them. Eventually, Mina mentioned a food that sounded close to home. _Takoyaki_, he repeated in his head. _Maybe it's a sort of Japanese taco?_ The nostalgia had him readily agreeing to the side quest. He gave Mina a look of appreciation. Did she know that he craved something familiar in such an alien land?

As soon as he saw the balls in their semicircular molds, Jack cursed himself for his idiocy. _Tako is octopus_. He felt his appetite shrivel and die, but didn't want to disappoint Mina, who seemed so excited for the food. "It's my treat!" If it was a date, he hoped he'd leave a good impression.

She'd forgotten her wallet. Taking his cue, he offered to pay at once, all while trying not to read too deeply into Mina's enthusiastic response. Jack ordered twenty, only registering that he ruined the date when he'd committed to the idea.

The hanami was a good enough excuse to get everyone together. Though he had intended on apologizing, Jack spent half the time trying to get the words out. _Sorry I shut everyone out. My biological father pressed all my buttons like a five year old in an elevator._

In the end, he let everyone else talk. His classmates joked on their preferred briberies and everything seemed to be going well. That is, until Katsuki arrived. Jack was indifferent when someone called him a name, but he had to fight with himself when Katsuki turned the verbal harassment on Tenya and Mina.

As soon as Mina said, "Hey, is everything alright?" Jack knew he'd been too stiff.

He answered with the truth. "I didn't get much sleep over the weekend."

It took a short time for the chatter to spiral to his father. Not Akira, but his true, biological father. He wondered if anyone could feel how his blood nearly froze, or if they could feel the shift in his demeanor. He didn't want to lie, so he didn't say anything.

_They're going to think I'm freezing them out again, but I don't want to lie._

The students filed off to the dorms. By nine in the evening, only Shoto, Jack, and Tenya remained beneath the sakura tree. "Tenya, you have a family of pro heroes," Jack began, cutting through what had been a five minute silence. Even without words, they had all been comfortable.

Jack figured they'd both stuck around because they wanted to help. It's what heroes did.

"That's right," Tenya agreed. "Shoto's father, Endeavor, is the current number one hero."

Jack glanced at Shoto in surprise. He never would have expected to meet another quiet kid with a powerful parent. He extended his question to both of them. "Were either of you ever targeted by an enemy, or pressured to impossible extents? Or is that just an American thing?"

Tenya spoke first. "I've never been targeted because of my family. Tensei was attacked just because he was a pro. It had nothing to do with the Iida family."

"I wasn't targeted either. I resisted all of the expectations my father put on me. Until last year, I would only use my ice, never my fire."

Jack felt as if he'd done something wrong. "I never resisted," he admitted. "Mister Titanic put the picture of me on his shoulders online. It was the first and last picture we took together. The very next day, some thugs kidnapped me for a ransom." The following quiet encouraged him to continue. Even though he trusted the teenagers before him, Jack didn't feel the need to relive his short and hellish experience. "After I escaped, the bar for me kept getting higher and higher. Some of my friends were sincere, but others tagged along in our group to ride on the coattails of famous heroes' sons." He hesitated briefly, glad to have his insecurities aired. "I want to know if that happens at UA. Are there people that only like you because of who your parent is?"

"It's been the opposite for me. My father is incredibly _unlikable_. I have friends not because of, but in spite of him." Shoto was the last one Jack expected to have such difficulties.

Tenya shifted before he spoke. "I thought people would treat me differently if they knew I was a part of the Iida family," he admitted. "My worries turned out to have no merit. There's no special treatment at UA for bloodlines. We challenge each other in a friendly and competitive way to be the very best." His tone flared with obvious pride for his school.

"Even when Katsuki says crude and idiotic things, we all know he doesn't mean them." Shoto said; which made Jack feel as if the boy knew of Jack's earlier discomfort.

Jack nodded to show he understood. For several moments, the young men sat in silence. When it was clear that there was nothing left to discuss, Shoto stood, thanked Jack for the food, and left. Likewise, Tenya took his leave. "Be sure to come in before curfew. You don't want to see Mister Aizawa when he's angry."

He took the hint. Jack folded class 2-A's newest picnic blanket and double checked for any errant bits of trash. One he was satisfied that the area was as clean as before, he headed up to his floor and went to bed.

* * *

On his second Monday of school, he dared to sleep until six. The extra hour of rest made him feel like a different person. Now that he knew what to expect, he _almost_ managed to enjoy his breakfast. Jack sat with his peers. Though he didn't talk much, he figured it was a step in the right direction. He and Tenya were the first students to clean out their bowls and sort their trash, which made them among the first to class.

By the time the bell rang, Aizawa stood at the front of the room. "This morning you'll be in the USJ with All Might and Thirteen. You'll have English and Mathematics in the afternoon."

"Sir," Izuku said, raising his hand. "When will we be able to return to our work study programs?"

Aizawa sleepily regarded his student. "Nobody will participate in the work study program until _after_ the sports festival. Any other questions?" There was a scattering of shook heads, which Aizawa took as his cue to nap.

The students got changed and entered the USJ, where All Might and Thirteen waited. Jack tried not to stare at the skeletal, deflated All Might, but he couldn't help himself. Every image he'd ever seen of the pro had been hundreds of pounds heavier. The once proud Symbol of Peace was as impressive as a sad sight. It made Jack wonder if his quirk could one day vanish, too.

"Today we're going to practice search and rescue. Everyone will be paired off in teams of two. From there, the pairs will take turns in playing the victim and the rescuer. Try to find the most difficult places possible," Thirteen stated, offering the students no welcome.

Denki spoke up. "So, we're playing hide and seek?"

All Might grinned. "Good eye."

Thirteen took her exercise more seriously, "Half of rescuing is the search, so today will be all about knowing where a victim can wind up and how to use your quirks to best get them free."

Without pause, thirteen began to list off the pairs. Toru and Kyoka were assigned to the fire zone. Katsuki and Mezo were sent to the flood zone. The next team called was, "Jack and Mina to the landslide zone."

Jack couldn't help but consider what a poor pair they'd be. She was bright pink and he was a giant, so hiding would be problematic for both of them.


	9. Hide and Seek

**Hide and Seek**

* * *

"This is stupid," Katsuki said as he walked away with his partner, Toru. Mina couldn't help but giggle, mostly because she felt Thirteen were exacting some sort of revenge on their class bully.

"You'll do great!" Toru encouraged, always the optimist. Mina couldn't help but think she heard some mischief in her friend's voice.

Jack made his way to Mina. As she glanced up at the new, tallest kid in class, she felt as if she was going to ace the exercise. At once, she shot her hand out and winked at him. "May the best hero win!" She proclaimed, already assured of her victory. Even if she was pink, most of her body was hidden by the navy and white of the UA gym uniforms.

"Go easy on me, I'm still a barbarian," he said meekly, as if uncertain whether or not his joke was worth sharing.

Mina's instant laugh seemed to soothe any worries. They shook hands and headed to the landslide zone. "No way! I'm totally gonna win." To ease the harshness of her words, she winked playfully at him. Mina didn't feel like setting things up the old fashioned way. Instead, she used their distance from their designated zone to her advantage. "I'm gonna hide first." Just like that, she spurted acid from her feet and took off at a speedy slide. As she relocated, she could have sworn she heard Jack chuckle in her wake.

Good! Maybe he's finally opening up. Everything was going alright last night, until we talked about his dad. I guess that's a bad topic.

Half sunken buildings littered the heavily soiled zone. Some of the dirt was fresh, thanks to Thirteen's meticulous attention to detail. Other hunks of rock were perfectly immovable for all but a monstrous hulk. Maybe I should rub some dirt on my hair, she thought, only to instantly shudder at the idea. Yeah, no thanks. That wouldn't be cute at all. Mina prowled along the wreckage until she found just the right spot. One of the windows had been knocked out and had fairly solid ground around it. Not only would she not have to worry about her tracks, there would be no loud noise giving her away. She hopped into the narrow opening, confident that Jack would be far too large to fit.

Her victory assured, she settled in and began to hum to herself.

"Your turn to seek." Jack's low voice was only feet away from her. Out of reflex, Mina screeched, turned, and punched. Jack only had to take a step backwards to avoid her practically useless attempt.

"How do you move so quietly?" Mina demanded, her heart thudding loudly at the shock. "Wait, how'd you get here so fast?" Her tone was accusatory, even though she'd been the first of them to cheat.

Jack looked torn between confusion and amusement. "I ran."

Mina spent a moment feeling like a jackass. Duh. "Wow, you're really fast," she complimented. In order to ease any potential tension between them, she grinned and reached her hand out. "Do you think you can help me out of here? Pretty please." He'd been a gentleman at every turn, so she never expected him to reject her.

"If you're down there, you can't peek," he said, his eyes glinting with a rare emotion. Mina couldn't tell if he was amused or mischievous, or maybe both. Jack turned and set his feet in the ground. She didn't even have a chance to shout at him before he pushed off the ground and was gone. In his wake was a small crater, supposedly from the force of his departure.

Mina jumped repeatedly, only managing to get a handhold on her third attempt. She scrambled up the edge and back to the dirt. Her first order of business was to look at the dip in the earth, which was even larger than she suspected. Originally, her plan had been to see which direction he'd gone by the planting of his toes, but she had no such luck. That's okay. He can't be that hard to find. Her next plan was to look for tracks.

For minutes, she led a fruitless search. Mina passed Tsu, who was looking for Tenya, and flagged her down. "Have you seen Jack?" Mina asked, getting desperate.

"That's dishonest, Mina," Tsu said disapprovingly.

Mina released a long sigh. "Oh come on! I'll totally help you, too. There were no rules against looking together!"

"How disgraceful!" A void called from some nearby rubble. Tenya emerged, complete with kung-fu chopping, and began to enter lecture mode. "A student of UA should not deign to cheat on an exercise. Such shortcuts only show-"

Mina lifted her hands, as she didn't want to stand through the entire tyraid. Her eyes closed, as if somehow that would help her case. "Okay, okay. You're totally right, Tenya," she said with an unapologetic tone. "Good luck hiding, Tsu." Mina winked at her friend, as if it had been her plan to draw Tenya out all along. "I think you found your victim!"

As expected, Tenya paled and looked as if he were ready to barrage Mina with another verbal onslaught. Before he could, she spewed acid from her toes and slid away. For another few minutes, she skated around, glancing from place to place to find anywhere large enough for a giant to hide. "Agh! I give up!" She finally shouted, projecting her voice loudly enough that those in the area could hear. "You win this round! Come on out!"

Around her were boulders and broken buildings, the same as everywhere else. Somehow, Jack managed to hear her. A hundred feet away, the ground cracked and Jack slid out of his freshly made hole.

"Huh?" Mina exclaimed. "How did you do that? Did you put the rocks over you like a blanket or something?"

Even though he had clearly won, Jack wasn't arrogant in his explanation. "I carved out a hole, pulled a boulder mostly over it, and tunneled a few inches below the ground."

All Might appeared just in time to hear the sequence of events. "Wow, not bad, kid," All Might praised. "You've got to have a crazy amount of strength to get away with a move like that. How long did it take you?"

Mina knew she had taken some time to get out of the building, but she didn't think it was long enough to let her partner devolve into a gopher.

"A few minutes," Jack answered humbly, as if the time were only a modest achievement.

Mina felt just how surprised she looked, but couldn't put on a straight face. "Holy cow, that's amazing! Your quirk is a lot like Izuku's! You're super fast, strong, and can run forever!"

It's no wonder he looks down on the rest of us. His quirk is amazing! Even as she thought it, Mina began to wonder if that could be the reason why Jack shut down all conversation.

All Might cut in with his own observation. "You're from LA, right? Did you ever hear of a hero called Mister Titanic. His quirk and yours are nearly identical. Back when I was in the States, he and I worked on quite a few cases together."

Mina glanced anxiously at Jack, ready for him to freeze or change the subject abruptly. Though he paused for a moment, Jack answered. "Yeah, he's my biological father," he admitted, looking self-conscious as he did so. "My mom has an analytical quirk, so it helps to stave off the backlash of my berserker quirk."

All Might looked relieved. "Was that planned ahead, or just pure luck?" He laughed.

Jack slid a hand through his hair. Mina recognized it to be a self-conscious gesture. "It was just luck," he admitted. Then again, what teennager wanted to speak of their conception.

Catching the awkwardness, All Might walked off to check on the next batch of students. Now left alone with Jack, Mina didn't have to stave off her curiosity. "What exactly comes with a berserker quirk?" She asked none too subtly, desperate for the answer. If he didn't tell her, then she just might not sleep again.

"Incredible strength, stamina, speed, and everything else that's physical, but at the cost of the brain." He tapped at his head to make his point. "If I use it too much I'll go until my body breaks or until I lose all rational thought."

As incredible as his quirk sounded, Mina was glad her acid didn't have such a backlash. Thanks to All Might, she'd learned just a bit more about Jack. While his power was impressive, she couldn't help but worry. "So what exactly is too much?"

Jack frowned, considering. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I just keep away from it."

Mina nodded, not wanting to give him any reason to get back in his shell. "Well, let's keep it up! If you can find me this time, I'll owe you some food!"

She went and hid. For the remaining hour of class, Jack managed to find her every time within five minutes. He pointed to her acid slide, obvious corrosion of buildings, and footprints. As for her, she would only search for ten minutes before giving up. It was only on the last round that she found his foot.

"Ah man," Mina groaned, in a rare state of sore-losing. "I thought I'd catch you at least once."

"You got me the last time," Jack offered, sounding far too kind to be sincere.

"I think you staged that," Mina huffed playfully before sticking her tongue out at him. While childish, it felt good to vent her frustration.

Jack wouldn't agree or disagree. He walked to the USJ's exit wearing a slight smile. Though he was normally an attractive teennager with an excellent figure, Mina couldn't help but look a little longer when he took the time to seem happy. "Do you want-" she began, only to be cut off.

"Hey, Giant," Katuski called at Jack. "Fight me."


	10. Apprehension

**Apprehension**

* * *

Jack found comfort in the familiar actions of hero training. He found Mina's efforts to hide amusing at best. In the last round, he finally took pity on her and intentionally left his foot uncovered. He recognized that when he was with Mina, he didn't have to say much and never grew tired of her rapidly changing topics. He walked along in content silence, finding her eternal commentary fascinating.

"Do you want-" she began, only for Katsuki to interrupt with his special brand of communication. Shouting.

The demand stilled the flow of classmates. As always, nobody rushed to aid whomever Katuski was yelling at. From last night's chat, Jack learned there was simply no point. "Why?" Jack asked, wondering what the motive was behind the request. Apparently, making an inquiry was the incorrect way to answer. A vein visibly throbbed in Katuski's forehead.

"To show you that I'm better than you, idiot!" Katsuki huffed, his fists emitting several blasts.

"You're clearly better than me, so there's no need," Jack declared seriously, wanting nothing more than for the confrontation to go away. Apparently he was seen as goading, or so he judged by the laughter of his peers. Ah crap. I was trying to be genuine.

"Katsuki's just mad because he couldn't find me," Toru said smugly. "Not once."

"Shut up!" He screamed at Toru. Once she was sufficiently hushed, he moved his rage back to Jack. "Quit making up excuses, you pussy. I'll win!"

All Might and Thirteen had already left, which meant Jack had to deal with the screaming teen for himself. He felt a prickle of unease that Katsuki was allowed to yell at Toru, but nobody else was standing up for her. "If you know you'll win, then I concede defeat." No matter what he said, he'd probably be perceived as a smartass. He walked out of the building and headed across campus, all while knowing he'd be followed. Katsuki took his cue and was on his tail. The rest of the class followed, though with a respectable distance - just in case Jack or Katsuki lashed out.

Maybe I should get this over with, Jack thought as Katsuki suddenly sped up and blocked Jack's path. Katsuki grabbed the front of Jack's shirt and glared at him with wide eyes. "Eh, you looking down on me?" He screamed.

Ignoring hadn't worked, so he had little choice but to act. Jack slid his right arm beneath Katsuki's left armpit, hooked his hand over Katsuki's shoulder, twisted to put Katsuki behind him, and threw his opponent over his bent torso and towards the ground. Not only did the move only use one arm, but it wouldn't do any real damage to a hero in training.

"Whoa!" Ochaco gasped. "I saw that move at Gunhead's Martial Arts!"

Katsuki released his hand on Jack's shirt, planted a hand on his opponent's back, and blasted.

"How unsportsmanlike!" Tenya shouted. "Foul play!"

Taking an explosion at point blank range was a cheap move. Not only was his shirt damaged, but he could feel the quirk rip a gash into his skin. Both competitors regained their feet, Jack with a little blood on the left side of his spine. He could have taken several more hits like it, but felt his point had been made. "See? You win," Jack declared, glad that Katsuki had reacted accordingly.

Jack could practically hear Katsuki's mind whirring as he tried to find the next move. For a moment, Jack feared their brawl would have to continue. "Kaachan, that's enough," Izuku said, his tone serious. He must have also noted the hesitation and continued tenseness between the fighters.

Katsuki gritted his teeth. "You didn't even try." His voice was low and serious, as if to somehow inspire fear.

"Sure I did." Just not in the way you wanted.

"You'd better go to the nurse's office, Jack. That injury looks serious," Tsu advised.

He shrugged his shoulders experimentally. The skin still moved and only offered a little discomfort. Truthfully, it felt as serious as a rug burn. His American friends had a grand saying for such occasions. 'Rub some dirt in it.' None of them would have suggested medical treatment for anything short of a broken bone. Giving in so easily seemed like weakness, even when he was in a new country. "Nah, I'm alright." Not only that, he didn't want to get on Katsuki's shit list.

The class walked back, each group buzzing with what had happened. Shoto suggested he could ice it, while Izuku insisted a wrap would be better. Eventually, they accepted Jack's insistence that he was fine and left him alone to change.

Katsuki changed first and bumped Jack on his way out. Thanks to their height difference, the move was largely ineffective. "This isn't over," Katsuki said quietly.

A few minutes later, Jack left the locker room with Shoto, Izuku, and Tenya. Much to his surprise, Mina stood close by. She gave him a beaming smile and waved her hand. "Hey! I'm going to get ready. Let's go to dinner tonight, 'kay?" Before he could agree or disagree, she scampered off, giggling merrily.

Eijiro and Denki, who had been just behind them, looked impressed. "You're going on a date with Mina? She's a total catch," Denki proclaimed, his thumb pointed upwards.

"I've never seen Mina go out with anyone," Eijiro seemed awed. "Good luck, man!"

A what now? Jack didn't want to read too much into them, but their words cut him far more than a minor burn. "It's not that. We just made a friendly bet based on today's training. I found her more than she found me, so it's her treat."

"Suave, man! You even conned the girl into paying," Denki laughed.

"Maybe she let you find her," Izuku suggested. "Once Mina gets her eye on something she'll chase it pretty hard."

Jack wondered if he was that something. He considered how she'd been eager to go above and beyond to make him feel welcome. The party had been her idea, as well as the stroll on campus. Suddenly, he felt like her prey. Am I being hunted?

Eijiro nudged Jack forward. "It's not manly to keep your date waiting!"

Ah, shit.

He began to question every part of himself. Did he do the right buttons on his shirt? Was his tie even tied? His hand felt at his neck, where the uniform was in a reasonable state. Do I have bloodstains? Wait, I need to change anyway. This shirt has a massive hole in it. He ran his knuckles over new tear.

Class 2-A reached their dorms and split off to change into anything other than a school uniform. Jack knew his was beyond mending and threw it in the trash. He had more, so he wouldn't have to attend classes in his streetwear.

What do I wear for a date? It's dinner, should I dress up? He tried to picture Mina in a place that served fancy food. The image of her cradling a wine glass was too foreign, so he shook it from his mind. "Casual," he muttered to himself over and over again.

"You got turrets or something?" Katsuki huffed. "Shut up, Barbarian."

Jack held up a polo shirt, desperate enough to ask the class bully for help. "Is this casual enough for dinner with a girl?"

For some reason, Katsuki's temple vein was back. "You fucking amateur. Do you think I waste time on girls?"

Denki passed by at the perfect moment for a comeback. "He prefers his hand."

"Shut up! I'll fucking end you!"

"Denki, how dare you insinuate that a student of UA would look at such foul videos!" Tenya shouted, his super hearing activated.

"What's he mean, prefers his hands?" Shoto asked, the joke going above his head.

Jack wasn't going to tackle that conversation. He donned his forest green polo shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. Even though Mina said she'd pay, he made sure to bring his wallet.

Fumikage was the least help. "One man walks to his doom," he proclaimed gravely as Jack headed back to the common area.

* * *

_My plan is for the next chapter to be much longer than the previous two and address Mina's point of view for the entire date. Thanks to everyone who's subscribed and is following this crazy tale._


	11. A Sweet Disaster

**A Sweet Disaster**

* * *

"You've got _balls_, Mina," Toru said in perfect awe. The girls split off and happily tugged off their clothes. True to form, they kept their doors open to allow for a steady flow of conversation. Toru, as Mina's neighbor, was the main speaker. "This is your second time being one on one with Jack, no fair."

Mina pulled on her favorite purple tank top and pale denim shorts. "We made a bet and I lost," she explained.

"I bet you're happy to lose," Ochaco giggled.

Kyoka stood in Mina's doorway, already dressed in her civilian garb. "He's so quiet. What do you guys even talk about?"

"I dunno," Mina admitted cheerily, "but he's so _sweet_! Like a big teddy bear." She finished getting ready and walked with Kyoka, Ochaco, and Toru back to the common area.

Toru wasn't done fawning over Jack. "Good luck with the big bear," she said rather loudly.

Mina knew Jack heard and was amused by his befuddlement. She approached him with a broad grin. "We made a new nickname for you," she explained. "Us girls have decided that you're not a barbarian, but a bear!"

Shoto just had to ruin it. "Don't bears eat their own young?"

"And poop?" Denki added, further ruining what was supposed to be a kinder alias.

Flustered, Mina changed the topic. "It's whatever. So let's go!"

_Smooth_, she told herself while mentally face palming.

"Good luck, you two," Eijiro called.

Mina and Jack slid into the elevator. "I didn't know bears did any of that stuff," Mina quickly informed him. "I just think they're cute and strong - so I thought of you!" Sh knew she lacked tact, so she owned it. It was well worth not censoring herself to see Jack struggle to keep his face straight. His brows lifted and eyes betrayed his surprise. He was too surprised by the statement to keep from blushing, which made Mina inwardly squeal.

He looked away, too shocked to make eye contact. He looked as if something had clicked, but didn't let her know what it was. "I don't mind. I've been called worse."

Mina saw an opening and took it. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

Jack slid his hand through his short blonde hair and glanced at the ceiling, though Mina couldn't imagine why he did it. He couldn't stop his cheeks from blushing scarlet this time around. "Roid Rage," he muttered. "I lost my cool a lot when I was a kid, so that's the nickname that stuck with me."

"No way. You're so calm! I can't picture anything getting you mad." Even when Katsuki attacked, Jack had kept his head and seemed to navigate the situation with ease. "Your old friends don't sound like they were very nice."

Jack didn't hesitate. "They weren't," he agreed. "We didn't go out of our way to be nice to each other, but we weren't intentionally mean. Everything was a competition. I don't mean a friendly rivalry, either. I mean that we'd scrap like dogs and the teachers didn't care, so long as it didn't happen during class."

"So you were one of the bigger kids and had to learn how to avoid fighting, so you wouldn't lose your brain because of your quirk!" Mina finished, proud that she had collected all the clues. "Whoops, sorry. I kinda stole your thunder."

As per usual, Jack wasn't fazed. "It's alright. You can think faster than I talk," he said, his tone approving. It was the closest anyone had ever come to calling Mina smart.

"Well thanks," Mina said, not one for long silences. "Hey, I wanted to know - do you _want_ this to be a date?" She thought that by being upfront, maybe they could cut down on a significant chunk of awkwardness. As soon as she said it, she was quick to blather on. "I mean, this is just a bet that I lost. It's totally friendly." _Shut up, Mina! _She told herself.

They exited the dorm building and walked down to UA's exit. "I thought it was. A date, I mean."

"Cool then! It's totally a date," she declared enthusiastically, grabbing his hand. Mina felt him subtly adjust, as if unused to contact. "I did that without thinking," she said with a self-deprecating smile, instantly letting him go. "I can talk before I think, too. It's my secret quirk. So, do you wanna get some pizza? It's a long walk, but we're both tough!" She flexed her arms, as if her upper body strength made her a better walker.

From what she could tell, Jack was having a good time. He even went as far as to chuckle at her joke. "Now when you say pizza, do you mean dough, tomato sauce, cheese, and stuff on top? There's not some secret fish hidden on it?"

"Well, you can get an awesome one with anchovies, but what's wrong with fish on pizza?"

Jack seemed to come just a bit closer, which made Mina even more excited. "We put lots of meat on American pizzas. The easiest way to spot a crazy person is to see someone eating a pineapple or anchovy pizza."

"What? Those are the best toppings!" Mina was baffled that anyone could dislike the mix of sweet and savory.

"You eat them _together_?" He looked nauseated, which spurred her on.

"Yeah, you've totally got to try it!"

As soon as they went to the pizza shop, Mina peeked at Jack's face. The more he read, the more concerned he looked. She glanced at the tame menu. Scallop butter soy sauce, teriyaki chicken, cheese and honey, spicy bulgogi, mayo potato, and shrimp avocado. "Could we get an anchovy potato pizza, please, but with pineapple instead of potatoes?"

The chef nodded and told them the grand total. "Four thousand yen," Mina reached for her wallet.

"May I pay?" He asked, his blue eyes so sweet and gentle.

_He's like a big honey bear_, she inwardly squealed. "No way. I lost," Mina insisted, giving the cashier her debit card. She was happy when he didn't press the issue. "Why do guys think they have to pay every time? I was the one that suggested the bet."

"As my mom put it, guys have the privilege of looking at girls. Girls have to tolerate how the guys look."

"No way. You're a total hottie!" Mina looped her arm through his and grinned merrily. "I'm the one that gets to look at you!" Jack looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but kept overthinking his words. "Oh come on! I'm pink and have antlers. It's okay for me to admit you're the pretty one between us."

Finally, he managed a sentence. "You're _incredibly_ attractive," he reassured her while gazing intently at one of the pizza shop's pictures. Mina knew he was just being polite, mostly because he couldn't look at her and say it with a straight face. She'd accepted long ago that her looks would always fall short and did her best to make up for it with a spunky personality.

When their number was called out, Jack grabbed their hot pizza and walked it to a table. "One pineapple...sardine…pizza…" he declared, muttering the final word like it was a brazen lie.

"It's totally pizza," Mina giggled, brushing away her insecurities. She grabbed one of the smaller squares along the edge and popped it into her mouth. As always, her actions happened before her brain could catch up. "Hot-hot-hoooot!" She huffed and puffed, trying to cool down the freshly baked dough. The moment it was remotely cooled, she choked it down. "See?" She asked, tears in her eyes. "It's totally good!"

"It tried to kill you. This pizza is the epitome of death."

He delivered the line in such a deadpan Todoroki style that Mina laughed even harder than she normally would have. "Ohmygosh, you're so serious," she snorted, clutching her sides. "Just try it!" The way Jack looked at her made Mina's stomach erupt with butterflies. His expression seemed to soften as he regarded her. The softness even lingered as he sized up the pizza.

His eyes flicked to the hot pan of food. He chose a decently sized square and set it on his plate.

Mina couldn't blame him for letting it drop a few degrees. "How's your burn doing, mister tough guy," she asked, referring to the one Katsuki had just given him.

Jack shrugged. "It's there, but not really bothering me."

"So you can take a shot from Katsuki, but can't suffer with your date?"

"Do you _want_ me to suffer?" He seemed confused.

Mina folded her hands and plopped her chin on them. "No, but I'm curious if you would do it. You seem like a guy that'd do some crazy stuff on a dare."

For a moment, Jack's eyes became distant, as if he were remembering something.

"Is there a story? Can I hear?" Mina persisted.

Jack looked back at her. "Of my dares? There are so many."

"You went to an all guys' school, so I bet everyone was always daring and trying to one-up each other."

He nodded. "Jumped off a cliff, ran into a burning building, completed an arrest using only one arm, drank expired milk," he tapped his fingers as he compiled the list. "That was a fun week."

"That was a _week_?" Mina felt boring in comparison.

"The sophomores were initiating the freshmen," he explained. "They made some of us ride in a convertible limo in nothing but sun dresses."

Mina's jaw dropped. "_Please_ tell me you have a picture of that last one!"

Jack chuckled. "I never took any, but maybe someone did."

Mina whipped out her phone and speedily tapped a message to Kyoka. "We happen to have a pro internet stalker on our hands!"

**There is a picture of Jack in a sundress. Find it!**

She sent her message and grinned. "We'll find all your secrets!"

"Apparently," Jack said with a wry smile.

Mina picked up on his uncomfortable body language and withered. "Hey, I'm sorry," she said, naturally reaching across the table. She paused, then stopped. _I need to think more_, she chided herself. "I guess you've made it clear there are things you'd rather keep private."

"There are one or two things I don't want advertised," he conceded. "The nickname 'Roid Rage' is one of them. It stuck, _hard_. Even though I haven't been in the States for a while, I've been tagged quite a bit." He pulled out his phone and slid it across the table. Even as he did, the silent device showed a new tag.

"Holy crap, there's over a hundred notifications! You're really bad at checking your phone."

Jack looked self-conscious. "Kind of," he admitted. "They're also name dropping, so their posts will get more attention and they can make bigger names for themselves."

Mina suddenly comprehended what a big deal he was. "So you're like the Todoroki over there," she mused. "If it's not Roid Rage, then what's your real code name?"

"Cataclysm."

"Wow, that's intense."

Jack looked down at the pizza, mentally preparing himself for the first bite. He picked it up and shrugged. "It's what the registration committee decided." Half of the square made it into his mouth before he bit down. Though he grimaced, he forced himself to chew and swallow. As politely as he could, he finished the rest of the blessedly petite cut.

"Whaaat? You don't like it?" Mina felt bad that she hadn't listened to him. Maybe a spicy bulgogi pizza would have been closer to his standards. "That's okay, we have lots of classmates that love this kind of stuff! We can make it our thing, to go on dates and bring something back for everyone."

"Isn't that kind of implying we're a dating disaster?" Jack said, still wincing.

"Oh! You only take food when you screw up." She grinned. "This _is_ a disaster!"

Her phone chimed. The preview told her there was an image attached. "Oh my God, she found it." Mina scooted her seat to sit beside Jack and share the moment. He and ten other men were all shouting and looking perfectly indifferent to their strange attire. "What's all that stuff on you?"

"Generally whipped cream or shaving cream. Each person brought whatever they had. Marcus," he pointed to the black teen at his right, "snuck easy-cheese down his top and started to spray the upperclassmen back near the end of the parade. You can see the can poking out by his chest if you look closely." Both young men were in spaghetti strap sundresses - Marcus's was bright yellow with pink flowers, while Jack's was cherry red with a plunging neckline.

Mina laughed and imagined a school without strict supervision. "We never have that much fun at UA. Everything's so structured." She looked at the tags. Of course, there was the tag for Roid Rage. "So you're overposted and overtaged, right?"

Jack nodded, quickly reaching his own conclusions. "It doesn't really take an internet stalker to see about my middle and high school years," he admitted. "Just that nickname."

"So if you guys are in high school, how come you and Marcus are arresting so many criminals?" Mina asked after seeing four consecutive photos listing that they'd patrolled.

"We operate in levels. Level one is that there's little you can be taught and you have clearance to act. Level two is you probably need guidance, but are okay to act in an emergency. Level three is you need constant supervision because you're in danger from others or don't have good enough quirk competence."

"Aren't all of these, like, open cases? Why can you post about them?"

"Quiet heroes don't get paid. By posting ourselves, we establish our own followings. The more followers, the higher the pay. Our pictures or videos are often used as evidence, so heroes have actually started to put cameras in their costume designs."

Mina clicked Roid Rage and was redirected to a page that had a picture of Jack in what she assumed was his hero suit. His gray pants were tight enough to show his figure, yet loose enough to allow him to move easily. His shoes were a mix of black and white panels, accented by light blue squiggles on the side that weren't quite as smooth as wavelengths, yet not as jagged as a zigzag. The same blue squiggle was emblazoned on the top of a skateboard, propped in his hand. To top the look was a dark orange shirt, likewise with the azure squiggle across his chest.

"Can you skateboard?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. It makes getting around easier. And it's a good shield, if needed."

"Isn't it kind of flimsy for you?" Mina zoomed in.

"It's fifty pounds."

Mina had taken another bite of pizza and nearly choked again. "That sounds super heavy! What's that in non-barbarian measurements?"

Jack considered for a moment, "I think it's about twenty kilograms." He opened an app in his phone and showed Mina. "If it's in an open space, it'll come to close to me as I can. I can track it, too. Just in case."

"That's one totally loyal skateboard," Mina giggled.

Jack laughed, but didn't respond.

"Oh, sorry! I'm too close, huh?" While they'd chatted, she had leaned in to get a better look and clearly invaded his personal space. Mina scooted her chair back and grinned heartily. "Whoops. Won't happen again!" She chose that moment to end the date. "Let's get this food back to class before it gets cold."

On the way home, they chattered about nothing. Through strength of will, Mina kept herself from talking about the weather. Any time there could have been a gap of silence, she rapidly changed topics and let the conversation remain focused around easy topics, such as sports and favorite movies. They got back to the dorms, where more than half their class was scattered about studying, playing, or in Kyoka and Denki's cases, on their phones.

"That was fast," Tsu remarked.

"Dude, you can't say that," Eijiro muttered.

Mina grinned easily. "We had to hurry back to bring your pizza! It's pineapple and sardine!"

"That's so nice of you guys," Momo gushed, bouncing forward and peeking under the lid.

"Here, will you put it on the table? I need to go to the girls' room." She peeled away from the main room, taking with her Tsu, Kyoka, and Toru.

As soon as they were a door away from the guys, Mina let loose. "Holy crap, it was a disaster!" She groaned, wanting to pull out her hair.

"He carried the pizza," Tsu mentioned, as if that somehow made everything alright.

"He warned me he didn't like pineapple or fish on pizza, so I took him to get pineapple and sardine pizza!"

"Youch," Kyoka winced.

Toru swooped in with her brand of unrelenting optimism. "C'mon. It wasn't that bad. What did you guys talk about?"

"I talked too much," Mina admitted, "if I wasn't making him talk about himself, I was babbling on about nothing. All I learned is that he's totally out of my league. He's so nice and basically perfect." Mina groaned and leaned against a nearby wall, knowing fully well that she needn't worry about another date.


	12. The Night Before

**The Night Before**

* * *

Jack spent the date bombarded with questions about himself. Though he felt an increasing desire to know more about her, she continued to ask him about himself. _You're so much more interesting_, he found himself wanting to say. She even went as far as to say she was unattractive, which had stunned the words right out of him. When he managed to find the right thing to say, she clearly didn't believe him.

The pizza wasn't the worst thing he'd ever eaten, only because he'd had to gargle toilet water as part of his freshman hazing. He made sure to be gentle about Gotham High's ritualistic teasing, if only to sugar coat their reputation. The school made excellent, efficient heroes, even if the teachers had unorthodox, hands-off methods.

He was terribly worried when Mina and three other girls went to the bathroom together. _Are they going to talk about me?_

"They're going to talk about you," Momo said, as if reading his mind.

"How was your doom?" Tokoyami asked with a somber expression. His black getup made him look like an oracle of death. Suddenly, Jack was second guessing everything he did. Eijiro, Sato, and Denki gathered around. Katsuki sat in front of the TV, pretending not to be interested in their conversation. Jack handed the pizza to Momo, who took it to the coffee table. Naturally, everyone followed her and took their seats. They pulled slices out and ate with ease, as if the salty, cheesy, and sweet mix was somehow pallatable.

"I thought it went okay."

"Man, how many pizzas did you get?" Eijiro asked. "I bet you tore through a dozen."

"Er. No. Just that one." He suddenly felt as if he had messed up in a spectacular way.

Momo counted the pieces in hand before gesturing to the box. "You had one slice and she had a slice. If the date had gone well, at least half of it should have been eaten." The factual way in which she spoke left no room for debate. Jack couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"She didn't give me a chance to ask about her," he admitted. Though Shoto and Tenya insisted nobody would care about his biological father, he had a sinking feeling Mina only cared about Jack's fame.

Eijiro stuck up for his best friend. "That's just how Mina is. She loves talking and does things before thinking them through. I bet she had a great time."

* * *

Jack had to force himself not to dwell on Mina. She continued to treat him as she had before, though without ever mentioning their date. From what he could tell, she must not have had fun. She continued to treat him civilly, but any special treatment like one-on-one outings were never brought up again. As soon as he was sure she wasn't interested, Jack made himself a schedule and stuck to it.

Two weeks after the disastrous pineapple and sardine pizza date, Ochaco approached Jack. "I was wondering if you could teach me some moves," she asked in a chipper tone, nearly bouncing on the balls of her feet. "The Sports Festival is right around the corner and I want to do my best."

Jack had managed to get a fair grasp on his academics, but he knew he was anywhere near the top of the class. If he took too much time to teach Ochaco, he'd surely flunk. On the other hand, it would be incredibly selfish for him to turn her away. "Would one hour every other day work?"

Ochaco agreed, so they began to train. Every couple days, they met in an empty gym to practice. Jack made sure to walk her through the moves and keep his own motions featherlight, while encouraging her to use her full strength. Despite the difference in their size, she did manage to use his weight against him and toss Jack to the ground a fair few times.

"I did it!" She cheered with an uncharacteristic intensity, as if she were a king standing over a would-be usurper, not a teenager prepping for a show of skills.

Jack smiled encouragingly. "Good work. Now do it faster."

They practiced in that way until the day of the sports festival. Classes became grueling and most of the students suffered. The more he was forced to use his quirk, the more self-conscious Jack became. There was no button that flicked when he became irritable, so he began to second guess every thought he had. He had to actively wonder where his limit was and just what would make him snap. He made sure to sleep at least ten hours a night, even though Denki called Jack a grandma.

* * *

_**Marcus Brown 4:04 pm**_

_When were you going to tell me that Japanese babes were so hot? _

_**Marcus Brown 4:08 pm**_

_Where are we meeting, bro?_

_**Incoming call from Marcus Brown. **_

Jack and Ochacho were in the middle of their last training session. His phone's sudden ring was so alien that he almost forgot it was his ringtone that blared in the hall. "Are you gonna get that?" Ochaco asked, her head tilting quizzically. Jack appeared apologetic.

"Sorry, I don't usually get calls," he said as he made his way over.

Ochaco continued to run through her moves without him. "Take your time," she said, intensely focused on what she was doing.

As soon as Jack answered, Marcus let him have it. "_I'm at your school gate, bro. They won't let me in without a pass or somethin'. Wha'chu doin' in there? Get yo sorry ass out here." _

Jack glanced self-consciously at Ochacho, who appeared not to have noticed. He casually turned down his phone's volume to continue the conversation. "I'll meet you out there in an hour."

"Bitch, get yo ass out here _now_," Marcus laughed, ending the call.

_**Jack Allen 4:11 pm **_

_I'm helping a friend right now. I'll be out in an hour. _

_**Marcus Brown 4:11 pm**_

_You been eatin' too much fish, bra, because yo ass is _salty_! XD _

_Whatever, I'm gonna get some sushi. I'll text you when I pick a place._

Finally, Ochaco realized Jack was busy. "If you need to go, we can quit for the night," she suggested as she straightened. Judging by the rare smile on his face, he seemed to find something appealing.

Jack seemed to debate for a moment before he agreed. "I'm sorry. One of my friends from back home dropped by."

"Home like where your mom lives, or home like _America_? Who drops by a continent?"

He let out a low chuckle. "My friend Marcus does. He's pretty plus ultra."

"Can I come meet him?"

Jack seemed open to the possibility. "Do you like sushi?"

Ochaco beamed. "Totally! It's on me, since you helped me train."

With Mina, Jack could feel every emotion in the span of a minute. She could tease him one moment and have him feeling confident in the same breath. While he enjoyed his date with her, she clearly didn't reciprocate such feelings. As for Ochaco, she was bubbly and personable without being intrusive. While she didn't tug his brain every which way, she was solid and relatable, which he found to be incredibly satisfying. "That'd be great," Jack said sincerely.

Almost the moment they'd both dressed form gym to casual clothes, Marcus sent his location. A quick cab ride later, Jack and Ochaco stepped into a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. It only took a moment for them to find the brown-skinned teen, who sat with a mountain of rolls before him. "This shit is the bomb!" Marcus called out by way of greeting.

Jack saw Ochaco look startled at the slang. As they sat, Marcus reached his hand out to Ochaco. "Hiya, I'm Marcus - Jack's best friend. I'm sure he's told you all about our crazy escapades."

Ochaco pondered for a moment. "Didn't you wear a dress for a parade?"

"Damn right I did," he declared proudly. "It was a quick break from my sweats, but I couldn't be without my pants for long. I dunno how chicks do it."

"I really like skirts. If you wear stockings, they're kind of like pants."

Marcus laughed. "I'll keep that in mind," he promised. "So, Ochaco. Are you the reason Jackie won't pick up the phone?"

Jack instantly knew where the conversation was headed. He quickly intercepted the awkward topic. "We were practicing martial arts," he explained.

"Well shit. Can she actually handle you, Jackie?"

Ochaco smiled and began to fidget with her hair. "Oh, no way," she was swift to admit. "He's way stronger than me."

Marcus seemed amused at the obvious statement. "If he wasn't, then Mister Titanic wasted a fuckton of money. Jackie here's been trainin' since he was old enough to stand. He's dominated quirk and quirkless tournaments since he was your height. Eat up, m'ladies. I'll pay."

"Oh, uh. Tonight was going to be my treat for Jack," Ochaco seemed rattled, as if uncertain how to get her point across.

Marcus shook his head, dismissing her offer. "I don't let people pay. If you can put up with me long 'nough to eat, it's free." Though fish wasn't his favorite, Jack selected a few rolls for himself and ate. He was surprised by how little he still liked fish, despite it being a staple in his diet. "So what's been happenin' over here? Did you get a cute little girlfriend, Jackie?"

Ochaco sputtered and nearly choked on her mouthful of food. She took a long drink of water to chase it down. Jack shook his head slowly. "Uh, no. We're not a thing," Ochaco hurriedly said, her naturally flushed cheeks marginally pinker.

"Cool. D'ya wanna go on a date with me?" Marcus gave Ochaco a playful smile.

Ochaco gawked and stammered. "Uhhh. N-no thanks."

Jack knew enough about social interactions to change the subject. "Did anyone else come to Japan with you, Marcus?"

"You mean Titanic, don't ya?" Marcus grinned. "He went to dinner with All Might. You'll have to wait to see him tomorrow." As the trio ate, Jack allowed his thoughts to roam. "So, Ochaco, what's your quirk?" Marcus asked, accepting the shifting of subjects.

"I call it zero-gravity. I can make things I touch float, then release and have them drop." She had taken to the offer of food happily and was already on her second dish.

Marcus seemed intrigued. "Can you do that to yourself?"

"Yeah, but it makes me feel nauseated," she admitted.

Marcus shrugged. "Then puke on your enemy. It's so unexpected that they'll either freeze or make a predictable dodge."

Ochaco's eyes widened. "That's - uh…"

"It's gross," Marcus laughed, "but it'd work every time."

"So what's your quirk?" She asked. For the first time, Jack considered that Marcus may not be as suave with girls as he thought he was.

Marcus caught her change of topic and smirked. "Flattening. I can't unflatten, though. It's a pretty useless quirk." He crumpled a paper napkin, set it on the table, and showed Ochaco. Though Marcus didn't touch it, it appeared as if an invisible trash compactor smashed in a very precise area. "I compensate by using a lotta toys. Tech geeks love when I try their shit out."

They chatted mostly about hero work and the differences in the education systems. As the only one who had experienced both schools, Jack was asked for his opinion multiple times. He made sure to give non committal answers every time, mostly to avoid the wrath of Marcus or awakening Ochaco's competitive side. Jack was glad when his nightly alarm sounded, letting him know it was time for bed. He and Ochaco walked back to the dorms together, where he wished her good luck the following day.


	13. The Sports Festival

**The Sports Festival  
**

* * *

Mina gave Jack plenty of opportunities to talk about their date, but he seemed not to want to talk about it. As soon as Mina determined that enough was enough and went to talk to him, she was approached by Ochaco. "Hey, Mina. Do you like Jack?"

Mina waved her hand nonchalantly. "Nah, I had my shot. We're just not right for each other," she assured Ochaco. "Why, are you gonna make a move?" Despite the broad grin on her face, Mina didn't feel the familiar surge of enthusiasm towards a potential budding romance.

Ochaco seemed relieved. "It's not like that," she said with a sheepish smile. "I just wanted to learn some moves from him. I mean, the Sports Festival is coming up. I want to be able to do my best, but I didn't want to make it weird between you and me." She glanced hopefully at Mina, making sure the good attitude would linger.

Mina only barely managed to retain the jealousy behind her broad, beaming smile. _They're going to put their hands all over each other. I wish I'd thought of that first. He's clearly in his element when fighting! _She knew that he cared about his studies, so he wouldn't be able to give Mina lessons as well as Ochaco. Joining them would make her feel like a third wheel. "We're just friends," she assured Ochaco, no matter how unpleasant the words were. "You two can do whatever." She gestured broadly with her hand, as if somehow the gesture could describe their lack of intimacy.

The night before the Sports Festival, Ochaco came back late at night. Mina and several of her classmates were still awake, chatting away their nerves. "Hey, Ochaco! Where'd you two go?" Toru called.

Ochaco settled on the couch's arm beside Izuku. She glanced at Mina somewhat self-consciously. "Well, we went to get sushi with one of his friends from the States."

Mina didn't want to feel jealous, but she did. "Was it fun?"

"Uh, he was kinda well, everything you'd expect from a barbarian," Ochacho admitted. "He cussed a lot and he hit on me just to make Jack uncomfortable. They didn't really act like friends are supposed to."

Mina couldn't help but wonder where Jack was. She knew he needed his sleep if he wanted to perform his best. Asking would be too obvious, so she continued to chatter with her friends, pretending like she wasn't worried. He returned around midnight, his eyes lost in thought. After she saw him home safe, Mina went to her room to sleep.

* * *

On the morning of the Sports Festival, class 2-A filed in with the mass of second year students to the open arena. Since Mina and her peers had participated last year, they weren't as daunted by the cameras or the roar of cheers that greeted them. Mina waved and flashed a big smile, making sure to look amiable and stand out. She only had today and next year to make a good impression and snag a good agency. Slowly but surely, everyone noticed different sized cement pillars staggered across the field. Some were too high to jump, as much as twenty meters in the air - while others were small pedestals.

Midnight cracked her whip to call order. "This year's competition is a variation of king of the hill," she explained. "There are forty stands - each with different point values. The lowest blocks will allow you for the highest points, while the highest will give you the lowest. Whoever is on a stand by the end of five minutes will be guaranteed a spot in the next round. No lethal force, but otherwise," she paused and licked her lips, "I expect to see plenty of competition. Now begin!" Midnight slapped her whip against her thigh.

What followed after was a swarm of chaos. Of course Katsuki and Shoto went right for two stands so flat they looked like cutouts of a sidewalk. Shoto froze himself into a protective ice dome, while Katsuki fired relentlessly at anyone who came close. Tsu hopped to one of the tallest pillars. Jack charged up a surprisingly nimble jump and managed to crest the highest of the stands, where he was able to avoid all confrontation. While it was technically a free for all, she noticed how Tsu used her tongue to toss any challengers away from class 2-A and closer to hero class 2-B. Never once did she aim for her allies. Likewise, Denki used his approved aiming gear to fire at anyone that tried to get too close to his classmates. Koji's anivoice covered him with bugs and he sent birds to attack for his friends. Fumikage only had to use Dark Shadow, who was all too willing to take on other participants.

In the end, the General Study and the Support classes were rooted out. Classes 2-A and 2-B utterly dominated the festival, as they'd had more time to hone their quirks. In the last five seconds, Jack's pedestal fell. Stunned, Mina glanced at the instant replay camera, which showed that he'd crushed his cement on his own.

_Why? Didn't he just lose his chance?_

The buzzer sounded. Midnight had an amused grin as the scores came on the board. Suddenly, Jack went from five points to ten million- jumping from first to last. "Whaaaaat?" Mina proclaimed, glancing around to see if anyone else had destroyed their podiums.

Tenya seemed equal parts encouraging to Jack and degrading to himself as he stepped off his three meter stand. "That was excellent thinking, Jack."

Shoto took second, much Katsuki's disgust. "Way to go, man, you got third place!" Eijiro said, congratulating Katsuki. Though he was supposed to sound supportive, but Eijiro only managed to bruise his friend's ego.

"Die!" Katsuki shouted, as good with words as ever.

Midnight cracked her whip for silence. "The next event will be a game of capture the flag. You will have to choose teammates carefully, because your point values will be put on a single flag. If your flag is taken, all of your points go with it." Midnight waited for a timer to appear on the screen. "Choose carefully. You have fifteen minutes to prepare for this all or nothing battle."

The instant she finished speaking, Mina could feel the tension increase. "Hey, Jack!" She called, headed over to him. Apparently, many of her classmates and several people from class 2-B had the same idea. All heads were turned expectantly towards the blonde giant, who glanced up at the stands. Mina followed his gaze, but could only see a swarm of nearly unidentifiable bodies.

_What's he looking for?_

Jack looked back, his face unreadable. For someone who was generally so open, Mina was baffled at how carefully controlled he was. He glanced over Mina, as if not really looking at her. "Sorry, but I have some other people in mind."

Mina winked cheerfully. "No biggy," she declared nonchalantly, even though she began to worry. She teamed up with Tsu, Rikido, and Mashiro, giving them a fairly diverse team. Glancing over, she saw Jack, Momo, and Shoto had teamed up. _Oh man. They'll be unstoppable! _There was nowhere to hide in the open field. After seeing Jack's look of determination, she hoped he wasn't out for a clean-out victory.

* * *

_Next chapter's gonna be longer. I'm sorry for the pause in updating speed. With this story in particular, I have to write three chapters at the same time to make sure all events line up properly._


	14. Flags and Brackets

**Flags and Brackets**

* * *

Jack made sure he was seen taking the meter long flag. He felt all eyes on him, scrutinizing his every move. As Midnight handed them out, he made sure to double check with her. Once she gave her okay, he, Momo, and Shoto were able to confirm their plan. A horn blared, signaling the start of the event. Shoto surrounded them dome of ice too thick to see through. Instantly, there were blasts from above as Katsuki began his attack.

At the same time, Momo made a shovel and peeled back a layer of sod. She placed a decoy flag under the ground and made two more. One for Shoto, the other for herself. The moment the ice shattered, Shoto met Katsuki with a blast of fire. Katsuki nimbly dodged to the side. Izuku had clearly been intending to go straight for Jack, but the appearance of two other flags startled him.

As agreed, Jack acted as bait. Holding his flag, he darted out into the field. He made sure Shoto was seen to burn the shovel, as they didn't want to make their bait too obvious. Vines aimed to snatch Jack midair. He knew better than to touch him and narrowly avoided being ensnared by diving down. Two teams were crowded by his landing spot, waiting for him to fall. Two flag bearers were in the mix, or else he would have avoided them. Jack let himself fall with enough force in his legs to break bones. He made sure to hit the field and break the dirt, instead.

Dirt sprayed and many people covered their faces, but not a metal-clad student, who stared defiantly at Jack. Tetsutetsu released a battlecry and held his flag in an iron grip. The other flag vanished in Itsuka Kendo's large hand. Using her free fist, she snatched at Jack's flag. Jack was quick to regain his footing and leap backwards, taunting them by not going completely out of the way. By staying close, he saw he made Itsuka uncertain.

"He's the bait, dummy," Neito huffed, falling for the trick. "Class 2-A thinks they're so great. They're using their barbarian to torment us into a false battle." Neito grinned and reached out. Jack dodged neatly away, still not going for any distance. He allowed himself to be touched. Neito reacted exactly by Jack hoped, by going overboard. "Just in case your flag's real, I'll take it," Neito declared, reaching for the pole.

Jack was able to dodge out of the way and sweep Neito's feet out from under him. As soon as his opponent was dropped, Jack moved on. "_If you let Neito copy your power, he'll go overboard and take everyone out for us. By getting in close, you're telling him you're the fake." _Momo had been right. Neito left his classmates alone and attacked class 2-A with his borrowed power.

"_The more he uses it, the less sense he'll have," _Jack had warned.

"_He has better quirk control than you'd expect. He'll lose enough sense to take him out as a strategist then be extra careful." _Neito jumped high in the sky and dropped down on Eijiro, one of the flag bearers.

Tsu jumped around with her flag in her mouth and Rikido guarded her. Mina charged Jack with a smile. "I really like you!" She called, hoping to catch Jack off guard. It was an old trick that had been used often by his barbarian fellows.

In short, he'd learned not to trust anyone during a battle. "Your horn's broken."

Mina had a moment where she hesitated and reached up. In that fleeting instant Jack quickly jumped back to his team. Shoto's flag had been taken and the flag that had been hidden in the sod was missing. "Bakugo took them both," Momo explained.

"Alright." There were only two minutes left on the clock. "How do you two feel about moving on to the ice cave?"

"Sounds good to me," Momo answered, stepping just behind Jack. Shoto nodded, consenting as well. Jack punched down with enough force to shake the stadium. As the ground gave way, Momo put her hands on Jack's shoulders, holding on so she wouldn't fall as well. Shoto filled the nearly the entire crater with ice. Using his hide and seek tricks, Jack punched a side tunnel for them. "_One minute remaining, sports fans!" _Present Mic shouted.

Judging by the explosions, Katsuki knew he'd been duped. Why would the winning team go underground unless their flag had been taken? Shoto continued to make ice, replacing what was blasted.

"_Aaaaaaaaand, time's up!" _

"Fuuuuuuuuuuck!" Katsuki screamed from above.

Jack couldn't help but chuckle.

"He really is a sore loser," Shoto said with a small grin.

"This is our second win of the second event," Momo laughed, finally letting herself be giddy. "Shoto and I won the ten million last year, too," she explained.

Shoto melted just enough ice to carve them a path. On their way out of the ice cave, they were greeted by their peers. While a few looked murderous, most congratulated them. "I can't believe I almost fell for those decoys," Izuku proclaimed, not sounding particularly sad. "It's a good thing I convinced Kachan that we should go for more."

"You and Katsuki teamed up?" Jack asked, unable to hide his surprise. A quick glance on the board showed him the final tallies. He couldn't help but notice that Mina's group didn't make the cut. Neito's group had taken second place. The fourteen top competitors were randomly assigned to their opponents. Upon looking at the board, Jack saw that he would fight in the very first round.

"_Alright, everyone, let's take a breaaak! We'll tune in again for a game of musical chairs after a quick break."_

"We did it!" Ochaco shouted, dancing with Tenya and Kyoka. She glanced at the board, which now had their lineup for the first round. "Tenya, you get to fight Izuku!"

Jack didn't hear Tenya's opinion, as he didn't stop walking. As the contestants left, a few of the general ed students and the non-contestants happily participated in intermission games. Jack went down through the tunnel to settle in one of the waiting rooms. Once he was alone he couldn't stop thinking about the night before.

* * *

"_You're a bad influence on him!" He'd heard his mother shouting, even though the door was closed. "I don't care what deal you made with him, he's _my _son too. You robbed him of a normal childhood with all those idiotic martial arts tournaments." _

_He could practically feel Charlie Chavez rolling his eyes. "Then why don't you let him choose where he wants to be?" _

"_Of course he'd pick you. You've brainwashed him into thinking that fighting is fun. He doesn't question orders. He's got the resolve of melted butter."_

* * *

All too soon, Present Mic's voice returned. "_Aaaand we're back, sports fans! Will Jack and Reiko please make their way to the stage so we can start the first round?"_

Jack snapped back to the present. Feeling somewhat numb, he walked out to the ring. Reiko approached from the other side, her arms curved dramatically at the elbow. Try as he might, he couldn't quite recall her quirk. In the center of the large square was a wooden chair. Given the destructive nature of students' quirks, he found the relatively weak material a questionable choice. Midnight seemed to sense his confusion, for she decided to explain. "Anything goes! If the chair is destroyed, neither contestant will advance. The round is over as soon as someone has a solid seat."

The moment she finished speaking, peppy music blared over the speakers. Each bouncy note was accompanied with funky vocals and a deep bass that radiated through the stadium. Glad for the distraction, Jack made himself focus on the match.

Within a second, the chair moved. Surprised, he gathered Reiko must have a sort of telekinetic quirk. He planted a foot on the ground and sped forward. Reiko seemed to anticipate his move and lifted the chair higher. He easily diverted his course and feigned a leap upwards. Reiko let the chair back down and the music stopped. All Jack had to do was take another strength-enhanced jump for him to beat her to the seat. Far quicker than he would've liked, the match was over.

"Aaand that's Jack for the win, sports fans!" Present Mic shouted.


End file.
